Department for Transport

A66: North of England

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking with the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support the proposed movement of the A66 Trans-Pennine Project further north and away from local communities.

Trudy Harrison: The Department continues to closely follow the development of the A66 Trans-Pennine project and is leading on the cross-Government stakeholder engagement. In parallel, National Highways regularly liaises with the local communities and stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Defence and Natural England (sponsored by DEFRA) on the project’s progress.National Highways’ aim is to design the best scheme possible, taking into account all feedback and policy. Following feedback from the 2021 public consultation and from the recent targeted consultations with the local communities, National Highways has revisited a number of options, including moving sections of the Warcop road further north. This has resulted in the identification of the opportunity to dual the western section of the scheme directly to the north of the existing A66 rather than to the south as previously proposed (i.e. using the existing A66 largely as the westbound rather than the eastbound carriageway). There are a number of benefits to this and other changes. Further information can be found in the project’s March update brochure which is available on the scheme’s website.

Phil Whittingham

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department last had a meeting personally with Mr Phil Whittingham of Avanti West Coast Trains.

Wendy Morton: Ministers and Officials meet with operators and their Managing Directors on a regular basis.

P&O: Finance

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much public money has been given to P&O Ferries in each of the last five years.

Robert Courts: In 2020, the Government bought approximately £11.4M of capacity from P&O Ferries under the Government-Secured Freight Capacity (GSFC) scheme. P&O Ferries also received £4.4M under the 2020 Public Service Obligation (PSO) scheme for the continuation of specified routes. This was on the basis of audited costs and included no allowance for profit.In addition, P&O made extensive use of the furlough scheme, with over 1,000 staff on furlough at one point.Given the considerable support P&O Ferries has received from the taxpayer, the Transport Secretary has instructed officials to review all contracts the Government currently has with both P&O Ferries and DP World.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the local authority that has the most potholes as of 14 March 2022.

Trudy Harrison: The Department has made no estimate of the local authority that has the most potholes. The Department encourages a preventative approach to highway maintenance, linked to highway asset management best practice.

Roads: Safety

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to update vehicle and pedestrian safety regulations.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to strengthen vehicle safety standards following the UK's departure from the EU.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve vehicle safety for women involved in road traffic accidents.

Trudy Harrison: The forthcoming Road Safety Strategic Framework announced last year will draw on the safe system approach, including the safer vehicles pillar. The Government recognises the contribution that new vehicle technologies can make to this pillar, and is driving this forward through a range of domestic and international activities.From 1 January 2021, the Government introduced a provisional GB Type Approval scheme for road vehicles to ensure there was no disruption to the market. The Department for Transport is now working to deliver a full scheme, which is expected to be implemented by the end of the year and will provide the regulatory framework needed to amend Type Approval requirements in Great Britain.The EU General Safety Regulation (GSR) will set updated vehicle and pedestrian safety requirements across the EU and Northern Ireland from June 2022. The GSR includes a new frontal impact provision requiring the use of crash test dummies representative of a small female occupant as well as injury threshold values reflective of older occupants, reflecting a United Nations requirement that DfT officials helped to negotiate.The Government is currently considering which technologies from the GSR might form part of our national approval requirements. The Department for Transport remains a member of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) which already incentivises many of the technologies called up in the GSR, including the enhanced frontal impact requirements.

Motor Vehicles: Standards

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish a response to its consultation, Future of transport regulatory review: modernising vehicle standards.

Trudy Harrison: Thousands of responses were received to the public consultation entitled ‘Future of transport regulatory review: modernising vehicle standards’, which ran from 28 September 2021 to 22 November 2021. We are currently analysing those responses and intend to publish the government response later this year.

Department for Transport: Carbon Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.

Trudy Harrison: Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.

P&O: Conditions of Employment

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to protect the jobs of workers for P&O Ferries.

Robert Courts: Whilst the crewing of ships is a commercial decision, the methods used by P&O Ferries in relation to the sacking of the crews of their vessels are intolerable. I am deeply concerned over reports that in moving against workers so rapidly, P&O Ferries may not have followed the correct and legal processes, and my Rt Hon Friend the Transport Secretary has therefore asked the Insolvency Service to look at the notification requirements and to consider if further action is appropriate.The Transport Secretary has written to P&O Ferries to tell them to negotiate and engage with unions. We will work closely with counterparts in the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that workers are being signposted to the most relevant support and will continue to explore what other actions can be taken.

Public Transport: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the 9.30am start time for free public transport on disabled people's abilities to commute to their place of work or education; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing that restriction.

Wendy Morton: Under the terms of The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme a holder of a concessionary bus pass is able to travel between 09.30am and 11.00pm on weekdays and all day at weekends and on Bank Holidays.The primary aim of the scheme is to ensure that no eligible disabled or older person in England is prevented from bus travel by cost alone. The provision of a free bus pass aims to provide these groups with greater freedom and independence in accessing a range of basic necessities.Local authorities in England have the power to offer additional local concessions, such as extending the hours of the concession, and around three quarters of authorities already do so.This area is kept under review. The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme costs around £1 billion annually so any changes, such as extending the concession to include morning peak travel times, would need to be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. At present, there are no plans to extend the travel times for the concession given the current pressures on public finances.

Transport for the North: Finance

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 135447 on Transport for the North: Staff, what assessment his Department has made of potential staffing level changes following changes to Transport for the North's budget.

Andrew Stephenson: As per my answer on the 10 March, Transport for the North’s (TfN) core funding for financial year 2022-23 totals £6.5m, a rise of £500,000 on the previous year. This financial settlement will enable TfN to effectively deliver its statutory functions.As a devolved body, it is for TfN to set its business plan and associated staffing plans. It is not for the Government to comment on the business planning of a devolved body.For staff affected by TfN’s move to Northern Powerhouse Rail co-sponsor, the Department have commenced discussions on the TUPE process. As such, I am not able to comment further at this time.

Transport for the North: Finance

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 135448, what the numerical financial difference will be as a result of the funding previously provided to TfN to contract Network Rail and other stakeholders now flowing directly through the Department.

Andrew Stephenson: In financial year 2021-22, Transport for the North (TfN) was allocated £25m for Network Rail’s continued development of Northern Powerhouse Rail.As we move to the new delivery model, Network Rail will now be funded through the Department’s Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline funding processes.The forecast for Network Rail for development work in financial year 2022-23 is £25m.As per my answer on 10 March, this funding is separate to TfN’s core funding which totals £6.5m for financial year 2022-23, a rise of £500,000 on the previous year. This financial settlement will enable TfN to effectively deliver its statutory functions in the coming financial year.

Aviation: UK Relations With EU

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to include in the Brexit Freedoms Bill the proposals that are taken forward after consultation from the Aviation Consumer Policy Reform proposals.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what legislative steps he plans to take to (a) provide the Civil Aviation Authority with additional powers and (b) mandate alternative dispute resolution within the aviation sector.

Robert Courts: The Government remains committed to ensuring consumers are protected when travelling by air, which is why we published the Aviation Consumer Policy Reforms Consultation in January 2022. Next steps, including consideration of any potential legislative requirements, will be published following comprehensive analysis of the responses received on the consultation following its closure on the 27 March 2022.

Electric Scooters

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-classifying e-scooters from motorised transport under section 185 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 on (a) road safety and (b) net zero emissions targets.

Trudy Harrison: The Department for Transport is considering options for how best to regulate e-scooters. This includes assessing whether they should continue to be classified as a type of motor vehicle or if a new legislative framework is needed. Evidence to inform this assessment is being gathered through trials of rental e-scooters and wider data sources. Findings from the national evaluation of trials will be included in a final report due later this year.

Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2022 to Question 136581, if he will publish the number of buses which have received funding under the Zero Emissions Bus Regional Areas scheme and have been registered as Public Service Vehicles for each calendar month since March 2021.

Trudy Harrison: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 14 March 2022 to Question UIN 136581.

Southeastern Trains: Directors

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all members of the Board of Southeastern Trains Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OLR DfT Holdings Ltd, are entitled to (a) free rail travel or (b) rail staff travel facilities.

Wendy Morton: SE Trains Ltd board members are entitled to free rail travel on the SE Trains Ltd network during working hours. The Managing Director of SE Trains Ltd, who is also a board member, is also entitled to free rail travel and rail staff travel facilities at all times. One SE Trains Ltd board member is also entitled to free rail travel and rail staff travel facilities on other services, as a result of employment benefits obtained before assuming their role at SE Trains Ltd.

Southeastern Trains: Directors

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any of the directors of Southeastern Trains Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OLR DfT Holdings, are also employed in other jobs.

Wendy Morton: One member of the SE Trains Ltd board does have non-executive roles outside of SE Trains Ltd that results in renumeration.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Flexible Working: Public Consultation

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish the outcome of its Making flexible working the default consultation.

Paul Scully: The Government consultation on making flexible working the default closed on 1 December 2021, with over 1,600 responses received. We are currently analysing these responses and look forward to publishing the outcome in due course.

Companies: Registration

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies are registered at Companies House without any Directors in post as of 14 March 2022.

Paul Scully: 16,448 live companies are currently registered at Companies House without any Directors as of 15th March 2022.

Housing: Energy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take steps to fund retrofitting manufacturing and construction skills to encourage retrofitting of domestic housing in the context of the energy divestment plans and climate challenge.

Greg Hands: The Government recognises the need for a skilled, competent and robust supply chain to deliver the improvements to buildings necessary to meet its net zero targets. The Department spent almost £6 million on a skills training competition which delivered around 7000 training courses for the energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains. The Government has also provided £4.7 million of funding over a period of two and a half years to six local supply chain demonstration pilots. These pilots tested innovative approaches for supporting and growing the energy efficiency installer supply chain. The Government will continue to monitor the market and its response to interventions and is considering options to work with the industry to support training in key skills shortage areas and new routes of entry to increase capacity.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Disability

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy that claimants of personal independence payments, disability living allowance and attendance allowance will continue to be able to access the Warm Home Discount Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: The Warm Home Discount is a key policy in the Government’s strategy to tackling fuel poverty. The Government consulted on reforming the Warm Home Discount scheme to better target fuel poverty and to provide the rebates automatically to households, as announced in the Energy White Paper. The Government’s response to the consultation will be published in the coming weeks. The reforms include focusing support on households on the lowest incomes who are struggling to heat their homes. Eligibility would therefore be linked to receipt of a qualifying means-tested benefit and having high energy costs. Households in receipt of a disability benefit as well as one of the qualifying means-tested benefits and with high energy costs would be eligible for a rebate.

Energy: Prices

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Prime minister's oral contribution of 31 January 2022, Official Report, column 37, what recent progress the Government has made bringing forward a package of measures to tackle the high cost of industrial energy.

Lee Rowley: The Government recognises this is still a worrying time for businesses facing pressures due to the significant increases in global gas prices. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met representatives of the UK’s high energy-using sectors frequently in recent months in order to better understand the impact on their business, and extensive engagement with industry continues across government at both a ministerial and official level. The Government’s priorities are to ensure supplies of energy are maintained. In order to help ensure our industry remains strong and competitive, between 2013 and 2020, total relief to energy intensive industries for electricity policy costs of over £2billion was provided. This has so far helped over 270 businesses across the UK. In 2020 alone, the Government provided relief to Energy Intensive Industries for electricity policy costs worth over £470million. In 2018, the Government announced £315 million of funding for the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, which is supporting businesses with high energy use to cut their bills until 2024. We are currently undertaking a review of the schemes which will enable decisions to be taken on their future format.

Iron and Steel: Hydrogen

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of pilots of hydrogen steelmaking being undertaken across Europe.

Greg Hands: Decarbonising UK industry is a core part of the Government’s ambitious plan for the green industrial revolution. The Net Zero Strategy, published in October 2021, reaffirms our commitment to work in collaboration with the Steel Council to consider the implications of the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee to ‘set targets for ore-based steelmaking to reach near-zero emissions by 2035’. Hydrogen-based steelmaking is one of the technological approaches being examined as part of this process. The Government is monitoring international progress on low carbon steel making trials, using hydrogen and other technologies, and is actively engaged in international initiatives to support industrial decarbonisation innovation, including the Mission Innovation Platform and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition. The UK steel sector has the opportunity to bid into industrial fuel switching innovation programmes under the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), which is intended to promote switching away from more carbon-intensive fuel sources. The Government will continue to work together with sector through the Steel Council on the shared endeavour of a low carbon future.

Clean Steel Fund

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the details of expenditure for the Clean Steel Fund will be announced to provide clarity about the decarbonisation of the sector.

Lee Rowley: The Department announced the Clean Steel Fund in 2019 and several options have been explored since, together with ongoing feedback from industry. In its response to the Call for Evidence on the Fund, the steel industry indicated a preference for the funding to start in 2023.  As part of the approval outlined in the Net Zero Strategy, we will continue to work together with industry through the Steel Council to explore decarbonisation options.

Iron and Steel: Carbon Emissions and  Sustainable Development

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take to support steel manufacturers to adopt greener production methods to aid the transition towards decarbonisation and sustainability of the steel sector.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the Government intends to implement its strategy to decarbonise the steel industry and help achieve net-zero targets.

Lee Rowley: Both the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy and the Net Zero Strategy, published on 19 October 2021, set out a range of decarbonisation support available to the sector. This includes:Over £600 million in relief since 2013 to make electricity costs more competitive.Access to up to £66 million through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and the £315 million Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) to develop new technologies, help cut energy bills and increase energy efficiency.Long-term work at the Materials Processing Institute in Teesside to help the UK steel and metals sector improve efficiencies, reduce emissions, and boost competitiveness.The opportunity to bid into industrial fuel switching innovation programmes under the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), which is intended to promote switching away from more carbon-intensive fuel sources.Around £2 billion spending for Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) and hydrogen. This is split across several schemes, including Industrial Decarbonisation and Hydrogen Revenue Support the CCUS Infrastructure Fund and the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.

Electricity: Standing Charges

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2022 to Question 128235, on Electricity: Standing Charges, whether it is his Department's understanding that the increase in the daily standing charge element of the April 2022 energy price cap is partly being used to cover the cost of energy firms still operating taking on consumers from energy firms which have stopped trading; and whether he has had discussions with Ofgem on that matter.

Greg Hands: Costs incurred when customers are moved to a new supplier from a failed supplier are split between the receiving supplier and a levy on industry as a whole. The levy compensates suppliers for the unrecoverable costs of taking on customers, such as purchasing additional wholesale energy, and it is funded from gas transporters and electricity distributors Use of System charges. The standing charge element of consumer bills reflects some of the fixed costs of supplying energy, including gas and electricity system costs. In the April-Oct calculation of the price cap Ofgem have increased the distribution cost allowance, driven mainly by an increase in the industry levy caused by exceptional global wholesale energy prices.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of relaxing planning rules on the development of onshore wind farms in England.

Greg Hands: Onshore wind is an important part of the energy mix, accounting for around a quarter of installed renewable capacity in the UK, but as one of the cheapest electricity generating technologies, we know that we will need more. As set out in the Government’s Energy White Paper and Net Zero Strategy, a low-cost net zero system of the future will be comprised predominantly of wind and solar and to achieve this, we will require a sustained increase of locally supported onshore wind in the 2020s and beyond.

Renewable Energy

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a right to local supply for renewable energy generation schemes.

Greg Hands: The right to local energy supply already exists under the Electricity Act 1989. Ofgem has powers to award supply licenses that are restricted to specified geographical areas or premise types. In view of recent supply market instability Ofgem has paused assessment of new supply licence applications and is strengthening the licensing process to ensure participants are sufficiently resilient to market shocks. One of Ofgem’s key strategic priorities remains to increase flexibility across the electricity system to support the delivery of net zero and ensuring that consumers benefit from these innovative changes.

Climate Change

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to update the UK's Nationally Determined Contribution in advance of COP27.

Greg Hands: The UK is encouraging all countries to revisit and strengthen their 2030 targets as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2022, following the agreement reached in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

Park Homes: Insulation

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what home insulation scheme grants are available to residents of mobile homes.

Greg Hands: Existing Park Homes are eligible for support under the £500m Local Authority Delivery Scheme and the Home Upgrade Grant. Constituents should contact their local authority to make enquiries. Residents of park homes may also be eligible for insulation under the Energy Company Obligation scheme. This scheme is not a grant, but a levy placed on larger energy suppliers to deliver energy efficiency and heating measures to low income and vulnerable households across Great Britain. Relevant contact details are listed on the Simple Energy Advice website here: www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/pages/energy-company-obligation. The scheme can also be delivered in partnership with Local Authorities (LAs) via the LA flexible eligibility element of the scheme; constituents should contact their local authority.

Fuel Oil: Prices

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support households living off grid that rely on heating oil in the context of rising heating oil prices.

Greg Hands: The supply of heating oil is subject to UK competition law and consumer protection through a regulatory scheme under the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). If residents are off the gas grid, but on a default tariff for their electricity supply, they will still be protected by the Energy Price Cap which continues to protect 15 million households. In the longer term, improving the energy efficiency of our homes and buildings is vital to keeping household energy costs down and reducing carbon emissions, which is why the Government is driving £6 billion into making homes more energy efficient over the next ten years.

Coking Coal: Russia

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to prevent (a) vessels and (b) cargoes of Russian coking coal from docking in UK ports.

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take steps to ban ships carrying Russian produced coking coal from UK ports; and what options are available to achieve that.

Greg Hands: The UK does not currently have sanctions in place on Russian coal. We are continuing to explore options to reduce our energy imports from Russia in response to its aggressive actions in Ukraine.My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport wrote to all UK ports on 28 Feb 2022 asking them not to provide access to any Russian flagged, registered, owned, controlled, chartered, or operated vessels.Legislation has followed this and the government made Regulations (The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No.4) Regulations 2022) on 1 March 2022 which restrict any Russian flagged or registered ship, or any ship owned, operated, controlled or chartered by a person connected to Russia, arriving at a UK port. This was a vital measure to take in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine and the government has acted accordingly.We will set out full details on our energy supply strategy in the coming weeks.

Coking Coal: Russia

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance has been given to British steelmakers on their handling and forward purchase of Russian produced metallurgical coal in light of the crisis in Ukraine.

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's position is on the supply of Russian produced coking coal in the British steel supply chain in the context of the crisis in Ukraine.

Greg Hands: Coal is widely available and UK steel producers can source these raw materials from around the world. We are in constant contact with UK steel companies and understand that those companies which were sourcing this material from Russia have already identified alternative sources. We are working with them to monitor any impact. We also understand that as sanctions tighten disruption will increase but we need to rightly hold Russia to account and we know that UK Steel companies will be doing all they can to mitigate supply chain disruption. The Department for International Trade has expanded its Export Support Service to act as a single point of enquiry for businesses and traders with questions relating to the situation in Ukraine and Russia.

Coking Coal: Russia

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to support and encourage domestic production of coking coal for the British steel industry to reduce reliance on supplies from Russia.

Greg Hands: Any proposals for new coal mining projects would be assessed in accordance with the current statutory requirements. To operate a coal mine an operator needs relevant rights and permissions, including planning permission, a licence from the Coal Authority and to notify the Health and Safety Executive; and for projects in Wales, approval of Welsh Government ministers. There is at least one UK Coal Mine (Aberpergwm, Wales) producing coal suitable for use in the steel industry. A proposal for a new coking coal mine in Cumbria is currently seeking planning approval.

Oil: Russia

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the UK oil supply that comes from Russian sources; and what assessment he has made of steps that could be taken to reduce UK oil consumption, including changes in transport use, in order to end dependency on Russian oil as soon as possible.

Greg Hands: In 2020, Russian imports accounted for 8% total of UK demand for all oil imports. In the same year, Russian imports accounted for 0% of petrol, heating oil and fuel oil demand. 18% of diesel and 5% of jet fuel demand was met by Russian imports. Reducing our reliance on hydrocarbons is no longer just a matter of tackling climate change or reaching net zero; it’s a matter of national security and making us less dependent on fossil fuels. We will continue to take steps to address our own energy security needs and to hasten the transition away from fossil fuels. We are already taking steps to decarbonise the transport sector. This includes ending the sale of all new non-zero emission road vehicles by 2040, investing £2 billion to enable cycling and walking and £3 billion for delivery of our National Bus Strategy. These will all contribute to reducing UK oil consumption.

Fuels: Prices

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to mitigate the impact of rising fuel costs on motorists in Newport West constituency.

Greg Hands: The Government is conscious of the impact of fuel prices on households across the country and has therefore decided to keep fuel duty frozen for the twelfth consecutive year.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Carbon Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.

Greg Hands: Greenhouse gas emissions are published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report and the Department’s own Annual Report and Accounts.

Packaging: Visual Impairment

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage companies to take up innovative technologies to make packaging more accessible to people with sight impairments.

Lee Rowley: The Government recognises the specific challenges faced by people with sight loss or visual impairment, and that consideration of equality impacts must be integral in all key policy decisions. UK Research and Innovation have work undertaken to accelerate innovation in assistive technologies, which is set out in the National Institute of Health Research’s report on Research and Development Work Relating to Assistive Technology. The Royal National Institute for Blind People can support businesses to develop more accessible products and services, and can recommend solutions, technologies and tools to help resolve accessibility issues.

Industry: Carbon Emissions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the wider infrastructure required to deliver industrial decarbonisation; and how those requirements will be including when assessing bids in Phase 2 of its CCUS Cluster Sequencing Process.

Greg Hands: Industrial emissions need to drop by 63-76% by 2035. Achieving this means going further and faster on fuel switching and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). The Government is working with industry to understand what changes and developments of network and storage infrastructure would be required to enable the UK to reach these ambitions. The assessment of Phase-2 CCUS cluster sequencing projects is ongoing, during which project submissions will be assessed against several criteria, including the credibility and deliverability of their plans to connect to the Transport & Storage Networks selected in Phase-1.

Carbon Capture and Storage and Hydrogen

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he will take to ensure that policy and regulation in the development of hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the UK supports the development of UK capability as part of delivering value for money for the public purse.

Greg Hands: The UK Hydrogen Strategy makes clear that maximising UK capabilities across the value chain is a key aim of developing our hydrogen economy. The Strategy committed government to publishing a Sector Development Action Plan in 2022, which will set out what government and industry will do to the support the UK supply chain to develop capabilities in production, transportation, distribution and storage and various end uses. The Government’s Carbon Capture, Usage & Storage (CCUS) supply chain roadmap sets out how government and industry can support UK capability in the CCUS supply chain as part of an investable, cost-effective and delivery focused sector. The industrial clusters will be the starting point for a new carbon capture industry, which could support up to 50,000 jobs in the UK by 2030, including a sizeable export potential.

Hydrogen: Foreign Investment

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to (a) attract foreign direct investment into and (b) strengthen UK supply chains for the UK’s emerging blue and green hydrogen sectors.

Greg Hands: The Government has set out a strong framework for investment through the UK Hydrogen Strategy and Hydrogen Business Model, and showcases overseas the opportunities for investment in the supply chain. Our forthcoming Sector Development Action Plan will make clear what government and industry will do to the support the UK supply chain in the production of low carbon hydrogen, but also across the wider value chain.

Industry: Carbon Emissions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of (a) the Hydrogen to Humber Saltend project and (b) other similar projects in making the UK a world leader in the (a) elimination of industrial emissions in the UK and the (b) export of such technologies.

Greg Hands: Following Phase 1 of the Cluster Sequencing process, the Hynet and East Coast Clusters (which includes the Hydrogen to Humber Saltend project) have been confirmed as Track 1 clusters. This puts these places among the potential early industrial ‘SuperPlaces’ which will be at the forefront of low carbon and renewable technological development. The investment in these places will develop resilient supply chains, support jobs, and position UK companies at the forefront of an exciting growing global market with potential export opportunities.

Northern Ireland Office

Ports: Northern Ireland

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the legislative changes required to ban cargo of Russian origin from being unloaded in Northern Irish ports.

Conor Burns: We are working very closely with the Northern Ireland Executive on the impacts on Northern Ireland as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This includes understanding any reliance on Russian fuel within Northern Ireland and exploring alternative sources of supply.

Department of Health and Social Care

Integrated Care Boards: Palliative Care

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he plans to provide to Integrated Care Boards on the commissioning of palliative care in the context of the provision in the Health and Care Bill on that matter.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Integrated Care Boards: Palliative Care

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans take to ensure that Chairs of Integrated Care Boards fulfil the requirements of the provision in the Health and Care Bill on the commissioning of palliative care.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Palliative Care

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the provision in the Health and Care Bill on the commissioning of services or facilities for palliative care, if he will use the World Health Organisation definition of specialist palliative care services to ensure a consistent standard and provision of services across England.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 132250 on North Tees and Hartlepool Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Reorganisation tabled by the hon. Member for Stockton North on 1 March 2022.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of including the option to book a sexual health appointment via the NHS app.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Oral Tobacco

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September 2021 to Question 50629 on Oral Tobacco, when he will publish the evidence on snus which his Department has analysed.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Bowel Cancer: Screening

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the outcomes were of the detailed modelling assessment of endoscopy capacity and demand within the bowel cancer screening programme.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Medical Treatments

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his policy that the NHS should refuse in-patient treatment for people who cite reasonable grounds for refusing a PCR test and are opposed to receipt of a covid-19 vaccination; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Health Services

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2022 to Question 136496 on Coronavirus: Health Services, in what format his Department holds that information in relation to covid-19 vaccine damage.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on preparing the way for the use of injectable PrEP to prevent HIV.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Healthy Start Scheme: Take-up

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when information on the uptake of the Healthy Start scheme by (a) region and (b) local authority will be published online.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Research

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reinstating funding for the ZOE covid-19 study.

Maggie Throup: Due to the reduction in serious illness and deaths from COVID-19 we have begun a new phase of living with the virus. The Government will continue monitoring the virus through maintaining scaled back surveillance studies such as the Office for National Statistics’ COVID-19 Infection Survey and other data sources including genomic sequencing. We will keep all surveillance activities under review to ensure we have the capabilities to defend against a new variant.

NHS: Finance

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the amount of NHS funds lost to fraud in each of the last five years.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dentistry: Influenza

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 15 March 2022 to Question 133203 on Dentistry: Influenza, for what reason the decision was made to exclude dental teams; and whether his Department has plans to review that decision.

Maggie Throup: Frontline health and social care workers, including primary care staff, continue to be recommended for annual flu vaccinations as set out The Green Book. Provision of a vaccine is part of an employers’ occupational health responsibilities under their policy to prevent the transmission of infection.The 2021/22 complimentary offer of flu vaccinations for frontline primary care staff, including dentists, was agreed as a one-off for the 2021/22 flu season due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the benefit of ensuring staff were offered maximum protection against both viruses. As part of the wider return to sustainable public health measures, the provision of seasonal flu vaccinations will return to being an employer’s responsibility from 2022/23.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Disease Control

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government’s sexual health strategy will set aspirations to (a) reduce the R- rate of and (b) set reduction rate plans for (i) chlamydia, (ii) gonorrhoea and (iii) syphilis.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Integrated Care Boards: Palliative Care

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) provide statutory guidance to Integrated Care Boards on the requirement to commission specialist palliative care and (b) publish a timeframe for that guidance being available.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Professions: Students

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of offering a retrospective financial award to healthcare students who studied between 2017 and 2020 who did not receive a bursary during their time of study.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many beneficiaries of the Healthy Start scheme there were (a) before and (b) after digitisation of that scheme; and if he will provide an update.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to help ensure that people who need of NHS dental treatment have timely access to it.

Maria Caulfield: National Health Service dental practices are currently prioritising urgent care, vulnerable groups and children, followed by delayed planned care. We have made an additional £50 million available for NHS dentistry for the remainder of the 2021/22 financial year to provide access to appointments for dental care. Patients can also contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre or NHS 111 for urgent dental care.Current work on dental system reform and improving training for dentistry professionals will also aim to improve access for patients.

Dentistry: Recruitment and Training

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) training dentists domestically and (b) recruiting qualified dentists from overseas; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Caulfield: No such assessment has been made.We are committed to ensuring that the number of places at dental schools in England reflect workforce requirements and continue to monitor current arrangements. Alongside this, we continue to value the vital contribution that international dentists make. As of 31 December 2020, the General Dental Council register for the United Kingdom records 9,903 dentists, or 23% of the register, as obtaining their original qualification outside of the United Kingdom.

Healthy Start Scheme

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made on the impact of inflation on the effectiveness of the Healthy Start scheme to provide adequate funding for purchase of food and milk.

Maggie Throup: In April 2021, the value of the Healthy Start benefit was raised from £3.10 to £4.25 per week, providing additional support to pregnant women and families on lower incomes to make healthy food choices. The Healthy Start scheme is kept under continuous review although there are no current plans to increase the value of the Healthy Start benefit.

Healthy Start Scheme: Telephone Services

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost per minute of accessing the Healthy Start helpline is; and what was the average length of call to the Healthy Start helpline in the month preceding the digitisation deadline of the scheme.

Maggie Throup: The NHS Business Services Authority’s Healthy Start telephone helpline is charged at a local rate. Calls are free for most people as they are included in the free minutes of a call plan. The average call handling time for February 2022 was 8 minutes 56 seconds.General queries about Healthy Start can also be made via email and through the NHS Business Services Authority’s Healthy Start Facebook and Twitter social media channels at no charge.

Cancer: Clinical Trials

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many adults are participating in Government-funded clinical trials on treatments for (a) brain cancer, (b) leukaemia, (c) breast cancer and (d) prostate cancer.

Maria Caulfield: The information is not held in the format requested. The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR does not record the age of participants in clinical trial therefore the number of adults in these trials is not held.However, the following table shows all participants in clinical trials for treatments for brain, breast and prostate cancers either supported or funded by the NIHR since April 2019. Information on trials for leukaemia treatments is not available in the format requested.All studies supported by the NIHR NIHR-funded studiesBrain cancer7,801 Brain cancer5,647Breast cancer52,569 Breast cancer16,681Prostate cancer26,873 Prostate cancer8,310

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Health Services

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the establishment of a PCOS specialist service across NHS England with capacity to meet clinical need.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made.

Tumour Treating Fields Therapy

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allocating funding for the use of Optune, tumour treating fields therapy, in the NHS.

Maria Caulfield: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines are evidence-based recommendations for health and social care professionals in England. The guidelines are developed by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and extensive engagement with interested parties. They represent best practice and should be taken fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients.Optune has been considered by the NICE clinical guidelines programme. In its guideline on brain tumours (primary) and brain metastases in adults, the NICE recommended that tumour-treating fields should not be offered as part of management of a newly diagnosed grade IV glioma (glioblastoma) or as part of management of recurrent high-grade glioma.

Dentistry: Vacancies

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will produce a dental strategy to help tackle shortages in NHS dentists.

Maria Caulfield: The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing proposals for dental system reform with stakeholders, such as the British Dental Association, to make National Health Service dentistry in England more attractive for dentists and their teams.Health Education England’s Advancing Dental Care Review aims to tackle recruitment and retention challenges, attracting and retaining more dentists and dental care professionals in the NHS. These recommendations will be implemented through the Dental Education Reform Programme. The Department is also currently working with the General Dental Council on legislative proposals to allow greater flexibility to expand overseas registration routes open to international applicants.

Dentistry: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of NHS dentists in York.

Maria Caulfield: No estimate has been made as this data is not available in the format requested. In the NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group, 209 dentists carried out National Health Service activity in 2020/21.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many visits the My Planned Care website has received since its launch.

Edward Argar: Between 24 February and 16 March there were 36,000 visitors to the site and 310,000 page views.

Pharmacy

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support local pharmacies.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing community pharmacy funding beyond the existing funding arrangement.

Maria Caulfield: The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework for 2019 to 2024 commits £2.592 billion each year to community pharmacy. Additional funding has been available to community pharmacies for flu vaccination and the medicines delivery service, COVID-19 vaccination and Pharmacy Collect. Negotiations with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee on what the sector will deliver in 2022/23 are ongoing.

Cancer: Research

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated by Government bodies and agencies to (a) site-specific brain tumour research, (b) site-specific breast cancer research, (c) site-specific prostate cancer research and (d) site-specific leukaemia research since 2002.

Maria Caulfield: The Government funds research via many routes therefore there is not a single repository of funding. Government funders of health research do not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is determined by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is a member of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI), which is a strategic partnership of United Kingdom cancer research funders. The following table shows total site-specific research spending by the NCRI’s Government partners for the period 2002/03 to 2019/20, the most recent data available.Brain tumour£24,848,028.73Breast cancer£148,744,495.51Leukaemia£130,655,832.13Prostate cancer£128,591,592.80

Brain: Tumours

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve awareness of brain tumour symptoms during March 2022, Brain Tumour Awareness Month.

Maria Caulfield: While there were no specific awareness campaigns for brain tumours, on 2 March 2022 the latest ‘Help us help you’ campaign launched to addresses the barriers which prevent people from consulting their general practitioner with possible cancer symptoms. NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing plans for future phases of the campaign to raise awareness of key cancer symptoms during 2022/23.

Infant and Maternal Mortality

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has given to NHS England on the recording of ethnicity data in (a) infant and (b) maternal mortality.

Maria Caulfield: The Government’s Mandate to NHS England and NHS Improvement for 2021/22 sets an objective to maintain and improve information sharing. The Mandate sets out that NHS England and NHS Improvement will continue to work with the Government and National Health Service partners to improve data collection processes and embed a culture of transparency and openness, reducing barriers to information sharing.The Mandate sets out that the NHS will tackle health inequalities including through measuring year-on-year reductions in the stillbirth and neonatal mortality rate per 1,000 births among those with a minority ethnic background and the national average for all births.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Disease Control

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the current reproduction number or R-rate is of (a) chlamydia, (b) gonorrhoea and (c) syphilis.

Maria Caulfield: The current reproduction number or ‘R’ of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis is not known, as R number estimates for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) require behavioural information which cannot be easily measured.The calculation of R for a typical STI differs from many other infections, in that it does not depend only on the population density of susceptible people, but rather the transmission probability per sexual partner and the number of sexual partners during a period of time, as well as the time spent in the infectious state. The value of R differs between different sexual networks and groups at higher risk of STIs as well as over time and cannot be generalised to the overall population.

Pharmacy

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Human Medicines (Coronavirus and Influenza) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 for pharmacy technicians and other roles to enable additional services to be provided by community pharmacies.

Maria Caulfield: The list of professionals included in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 who are able to supply, administer and prescribe is kept under review. NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently considering prescribing responsibilities across all non-medical groups.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 17 March to Question 139315, whether the prescription charge waiver for covid-19 antivirals and therapeutic clinical trials announced by his Department on 10 December 2021 will be removed as planned on 31 March.

Maria Caulfield: The current prescription charge waiver for COVID-19 antivirals and therapeutics is in place until 31 March 2022. The Government will provide further information on plans for the waiver from 31 March in due course.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many visitors the My Planned Care website has received since its launch.

Edward Argar: Between 24 February and 9 March 2022 there were 18,000 unique users and 223,000 page views.

Members: Correspondence

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 23 July 2021 from the hon. Member for Rochdale on treatment for lymphedema.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 8 March 2022.

Dementia: Social Services

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to meet the additional needs of people living with dementia whose conditions have seen accelerated progression during the pandemic.

Gillian Keegan: We recognise that many older adults, including those living with dementia, have experienced deconditioning or the loss of physical, psychological and functional capacity due to inactivity during the pandemic. As part of the adult social care white paper, ‘People at the Heart of Care’, we are investing £3 million over three years to establish a deconditioning inequalities innovation fund, which aims to support people at particularly high risk of deconditioning, including those with dementia.In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement have made guidance and resources available to address the rehabilitation needs of people living with dementia, including ‘Dementia wellbeing in the COVID-19 pandemic’, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/C1280_Dementia-wellbeing-in-the-COVID-pandemic-v3.pdfWe have also commissioned research through the National Institute for Health Research on mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on people with dementia and their carers living in the community. Summary leaflets were produced for those with dementia and their carers, which are available at the following link:http://www.idealproject.org.uk/covid/

Health Services: Private Sector

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement of 10 January 2022 from NHS England on an agreement for private hospitals to support NHS capacity during the covid-19 outbreak, what the total financial value of that deal is; what estimate he has made of the number of patients that will be treated under the terms of that agreement; and what activities each private provider has been asked to undertake for the NHS.

Edward Argar: The information requested is not yet available as the period of these arrangements concludes on 31 March 2022, when the activity total will be reviewed and costed.NHS England has estimated a minimum cost of £75 to £90 million per month whilst the ‘surge arrangements’ within the contract remain inactivated. This is equivalent to the value of elective activity delivered through approximately the same providers in Quarter 4 2020/21. In the absence of surge activation, additional costs will be related to increased volumes of activity or changes to higher priority cases. If surge arrangements are activated, NHS England has estimated the maximum cost of the arrangements to be £175 million per month. However, this is based on surge arrangements being activated nationally which is considered to be unlikely. To date, there have been no such activations.The number of patients treated and the activities provided will be determined by National Health Service systems and independent sector providers dependent on the needs for both COVID-19 and non-COVID conditions locally and the capacity available in the area. NHS England is working closely with regions and systems to ensure the arrangements are being used to deliver effectively for patients.

Members: Correspondence

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the hon. Member for Rochdale’s correspondence dated 8 October 2021 regarding ICS Boards and dated 25 October 2021 regarding training for radiologists and oncologists.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member’s letter dated 8 October 2021 on 31 January 2022 and the letter dated 25 October 2021 on 16 March 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to answer Question 125316 tabled on 14 February 2022 by the hon. Member for Livingston.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 125316.

Care Homes: Visits

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to section 1.1 of his Department's most recent guidance on care home visiting, if he will publish the exceptional circumstances in which someone may need the additional support of more than one essential care giver; and who is responsible for making that decision.

Gillian Keegan: All care home residents should be supported to nominate an essential care giver, who can visit in most circumstances, including during an outbreak. There will be exceptional circumstances where the additional support of more than one essential care giver may be required, for example, if a nominated essential care giver is unwell. The Department promotes a localised approach for providers, carers, residents and their families to make decisions around these exceptional circumstances, utilising individualised risk assessments.Residents, their loved ones and their carers are best placed to make decisions about their care. They should be included in all decision-making, including determining a resident’s essential care giver and how many they should have. Registered care home managers will take decisions based on the specific circumstances in their setting.

Laboratories: Private Sector

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of private medical laboratories accredited with the UKAS ISO15189 standard in each year since 2017.

Edward Argar: No specific estimate has been made.

Healthy Start Scheme: Telephone Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish information held by his Department on service use for the Healthy Start voucher scheme helpline since December 2021.

Maggie Throup: Between 1 December 2021 and 17 March 2022, the Healthy Start Issuing Unit, which administers the Healthy Start voucher scheme, received 61,301 calls to its contact centre.

Midwives: Vacancies

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the current (a) level of staff vacancies in midwifery services in England and (b) average caseload per midwife in England.

Edward Argar: The data requested on vacancies of midwives is not held in the format requested. The information requested on caseloads of midwives is not held centrally.

Coronavirus: Juries

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that jurors can access supplies of free covid-19 lateral flow tests after 1 April 2022.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, free universal access to asymptomatic and symptomatic tests for the public in England will end. We will continue to make free testing available for a small number of at risk groups. Further details on eligible groups will be made available in due course. We will review the impact of COVID-19 policies on people such as jurors.

Social Services: Fees and Charges

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the number of people who would have to sell their home to pay for care under the proposed £86,000 cap on lifetime care costs.

Gillian Keegan: Fewer people will be unable to pay for social care without selling their home due to the reforms to the social care charging system compared to the existing system. These reforms will complement the existing system which allows people in need of residential care to defer payment of their care home fees so that they or their families do not have to sell their home during their lifetime. The value of a person’s main home can only be taken into account if they are drawing on care in a residential home and no partner or eligible family member remains in their own home.In designing these reforms, the Government has prioritised a more generous means-testing system, which benefits those with low to moderate wealth. From October 2023, people with less than £100,000 of chargeable assets are now likely to receive financial help from the state, whereas currently many of these people pay for all their own care. This is more than four times the existing threshold of £23,250.

Out of Area Treatment

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Care Quality Commission publication Brief guide: Out of Area Placements in Rehabilitation Units, if he will make it his policy to (a) collect and (b) publish data on the use of rehabilitation out of area placements; and if he will publish guidance to NHS trusts on using a consistent method for categorising the reasons for such placements.

Gillian Keegan: Data on the use of rehabilitation out of area placements is not currently collected and published.However, National Health Service-led provider collaboratives in specialised mental health and learning disability and autism pathways are bringing together commissioning and clinical leaders with expertise to reduce out of area placements. NHS England and NHS Improvement are considering how this can contribute to data collected on out of area placements in rehabilitation units and be used nationally to improve services and reduce unwarranted variation.

Members: Correspondence

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the length of time taken by his Department to respond to correspondence from hon Members.

Edward Argar: The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from hon. Members, either directly or on behalf of their constituents. There has been a high degree of parliamentary interest on delays in response times both to correspondence and written questions across Government, but in particular the Department of Health and Social Care. The Procedure Committee is monitoring the Department’s performance.We are doing our utmost to reduce the backlog of 3,500 overdue ministerial cases.Data on the timeliness of responses to correspondence from Parliamentarians is published on GOV.UK, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peersData for 2021 will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.

Hearing Impairment and Speech and Language Disorders: Paediatrics

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the analysis by NHS Providers and the NHS Confederation that the highest numbers and largest volumes of long waits for community paediatric diagnoses are for audiology and speech and language therapy.

Gillian Keegan: As of November 2021, 24% of children and young people’s speech and language services and 8% of audiology services were operating at pre-COVID-19 levels. The National Health Service is working to lower the median waiting time for children and young people in need of these services. The 2022-23 Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance advises that integrated care systems must develop plans for the reduction of community service waiting lists and ensure compliance with national reporting.

Health Professions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) allied health professionals and (d) scientists that will graduate and work in the NHS in each of the next five years.

Edward Argar: The Department has recently commissioned NHS England to develop a workforce strategy and will set out its conclusions in due course.

Health Services: ICT

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of how many and what proportion providers of IT clinical settings are compliant with the information standard DBC0129 on clinical risk management.

Gillian Keegan: All health IT system providers working with the National Health Service are expected to meet the DCB0129 standard. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, it is the responsibility of local NHS providers to assess the supplier and confirm the system meets the DCB0129 standard. To deploy the system responsibly, the NHS organisation would need to review the suppliers Clinical Safety Case Report and determine that the system met the DCB0129 standard. There is currently no central assessment of the proportion of provider conformity with the information standard DCB0129. From April 2022, NHS organisations will be required to report on their compliance with the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) for all digital health technologies and clinical systems used in the organisation. The DTAC standards include compliance with the DCB0129 clinical risk management standard, therefore this assurance process will collect the proportion of providers which are compliant in future.

Carers: Energy

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to support unpaid carers with rises in energy costs.

Gillian Keegan: The Government remains committed to tackling fuel poverty and continues to provide additional support to low-income, fuel poor and vulnerable households, including unpaid carers if eligible, through established schemes such as the Warm Home Discount, Cold Weather Payment and Winter Fuel Payment.Local authorities are also required to undertake a Carer’s Assessment for any carer who appears to have a need for support. This assessment can record the impact caring has on a carer and will review their needs, including whether they are willing or able to continue caring. If a carer is assessed as having needs which are eligible for support, the local authority has a legal duty to meet these needs on request from the carer and devise a support plan with the carer setting out how these needs will be met.

NHS England: Staff

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what forecast he has made for the likely increase in staff costs for 2022-23 for NHS England.

Edward Argar: A forecast has not yet been made. The Government is seeking pay recommendations from the independent Pay Review Bodies (PRBs) for most public sector workers not in multi-year pay and contract reform deals. Remit letters were issued to the PRBs in November 2021. As the PRBs are independent, the Government cannot pre-empt the recommendations, which we expect to receive in May 2022.

Centre for Improving Data Collaboration

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds a minute of the meeting between the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation, Lord O'Shaughnessy and Imperial College London regarding the Centre for Improving Data Collaboration; whether Departmental officials were present; and in what capacity Lord O'Shaugnessy attended that meeting.

Gillian Keegan: Lord O’Shaughnessy and colleagues at the Imperial Institute for Global Health Innovation undertook a piece of research on behalf of the NHSX Centre for Improving Data Collaboration, to contribute to the development of the Value Sharing Framework for health data partnerships. Departmental officials were present and the Department holds a minute of the meeting.

Dupuytren's Contracture

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of people diagnosed with Dupuytren's contracture in (a) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council area, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last three years.

Gillian Keegan: This information is not held in the format requested. However, the following table shows count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) in English National Health Service hospitals and NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector where the primary diagnosis is related to Dupuytren's contracture for patients resident in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and England in each of the last three years. YearBarnsleySouth YorkshireEngland2018/196048018,2692019/208052016,6792020/21252306,463 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Digital.Notes:This data is not a count of people, as the same person could be admitted to hospital on more than one occasion and it is possible that initial diagnosis may have taken place before a hospital admission.Some patients may be diagnosed with the condition but not require a hospital visit therefore this data is likely to represent trends in the most serious cases rather than total numbers.A FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are usually counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes.There are 20 diagnosis fields that can be populated per episode from April 2007, which contain information about a patient's illness or condition. The primary diagnosis field contains the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) code for the main condition treated or investigated during the episode. The code used for this analysis is M72.0 - Palmar fascial fibromatosis [Dupuytren].

Mental Health Services: Finance

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the £44 billion of additional funding announced in the 2021 Spending Review he plans to allocate to mental health services.

Gillian Keegan: Following the outcome of the 2021 Spending Review, spending plans for individual budgets in 2022/23 to 2024/25 inclusive are subject to a detailed financial planning exercise and will be finalised in due course. However, we are investing £300 million to eradicate mental health dormitories by 2024/25 and £150 million for improvements in the mental health estate. This includes investing in National Health Service mental health facilities linked to accident and emergency departments and enhancing patient safety in mental health units. We are also investing £500 million over three years to transform Start for Life and family help services. Of this, £100 million has been allocated to infant and parent mental health services across 75 local authorities. This is in addition to the commitment to increase spending on mental health services in England by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 and £500 million provided in 2021/22 to address waiting times for mental health services and invest in the NHS workforce.

Care Homes and Hospitals: Coronavirus

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether free covid-19 lateral flow tests will be made available to care home and hospital visitors after 1 April 2022.

Gillian Keegan: The regular asymptomatic testing regime in care settings and hospitals after 1 April 2022 is currently under review. Testing for visitors to these settings should continue in line with the current guidance. We will set out further details on the future of asymptomatic lateral flow device testing in these settings in due course, including which groups will be eligible for tests after the provision of free testing for the general public ends.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of ending the provision of free covid-19 lateral flow device tests for residential care home visitors.

Gillian Keegan: The regular asymptomatic testing regime in adult social care after 1 April 2022 is currently under review and we will set out further details in due course. The review will take account of the impact of COVID-19 policies on people with caring responsibilities, including care home visitors. Until 1 April, testing for visitors to care homes should continue in line with current guidance on testing in care homes.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that free covid-19 lateral flow tests continue to be available to people wishing to visit relatives in care homes after 1 April 2022.

Gillian Keegan: The regular asymptomatic testing regime in adult social care from 1 April 2022 is currently under review. Until 1 April, testing for visitors to care homes should align with current guidance on testing in care homes. We will set out further details in due course.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the (a) referral process and (b) self-referral process for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services is consistent across NHS trusts in England.

Gillian Keegan: Models of delivery and service configuration are locally determined. Arrangements for referral and self-referral processes are the responsibility of professionals and children and young people’s mental health services. NHS England and NHS Improvement expect local areas to have clear referral and self-referral processes in place, which consider the needs of the young person.

Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the availability of mental health support services for people who have experienced trauma; and whether he has plans to expand provision of those services.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, the NHS Long Term Plan commits to new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care which will support adults and older adults with severe mental illnesses. This includes access to personalised and trauma-informed care. In 2021/22, we invested £2.5 million to pilot new approaches to support children who have experienced complex trauma.We are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year to enable a further two million people, including those who have experienced trauma, to access National Health Service-funded mental health support in England by 2023/24.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Naz Shah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential for the number of cases of Covid-19 in care homes to increase as a result of the ending of free lateral flow tests.

Gillian Keegan: The testing regimes for adult social care from 1 April 2022 are currently under review. Further details will be provided in due course.

Social Services: Staff

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of staff that have (a) left and (b) been recruited into (i) adult social care and (ii) children's social care in the last 12 months.

Gillian Keegan: The Department is responsible for adult social care in England. Therefore, information on the children’s social care workforce is not held.The information on the adult social care workforce is not held in the format requested. However, Skills for Care has published indicative, unweighted monthly data on net changes in the workforce size since March 2021. This shows that the number of filled posts employed by independent providers has fallen by 4.6% in total between March 2021 and February 2022.

Wheelchairs: Low Incomes

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking increase the supply of wheelchairs to widen access for people on low incomes.

Gillian Keegan: National Health Service wheelchairs are available free of charge via the NHS Wheelchair Service, following an eligibility assessment. Since 2 December 2019, people who access NHS Wheelchair Services whose posture and mobility needs impact their wider health and social care needs also have a legal right to a personal wheelchair budget. Decisions on how these are provided are made locally on a case-by-case basis, based on clinical assessments. The Mobility Scheme is available for those who wish to buy or hire an electric wheelchair and allows some people to use their benefits to pay for a wheelchair.Additionally, we are supporting access to appropriate disability equipment via NHS Supply Chain, which maintains a framework contract for the supply of rehabilitation and disabled services equipment, including wheelchairs, into the NHS and other healthcare settings.

Lung Diseases: Research

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with representatives from Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation Partnership to discuss their plans to deliver investment in respiratory research and development in the UK.

Gillian Keegan: Departmental officials regularly engage with Asthma + Lung UK on a range of issues. My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care also met with representatives of Asthma + Lung UK at COP26 in November 2021.The Department invests £1.3 billion a year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR supports a range of research to improve outcomes in respiratory health. This includes funding for two dedicated NIHR Health Protection Research Units, specialising in respiratory infections and the health impacts of environmental exposures, such as air pollution.

Social Services: Personal Income

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with relevant stakeholders on increasing the statutory element of Minimum Income Guarantee for social care users beyond the rate of inflation in response to cost of living increases.

Gillian Keegan: While we have no current plans for specific discussions, we regularly engage with a range of stakeholders on issues relating to social care charging policies. The Government has no plans to increase the Minimum Income Guarantee above the level announced in 2022.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths of child and young person patients whilst under the treatment of independent mental health providers in each of the last three years.

Gillian Keegan: We are unable to provide the information requested as it could lead to the identification of individuals. Data held by NHS England and NHS Improvement relates to a small patient count of fewer than five cases.All deaths of patients under the care of Tier 4 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are routinely reported to the Department via NHS England and NHS Improvement. Such deaths are also notified to the Care Quality Commission and the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health.

Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the regional variation in the availability of mental health services.

Gillian Keegan: In March 2021, we published the Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, supported by an additional £500 million in 2021/22 to address waiting times for mental health services. This included £15 million for prevention and early intervention activity for mental health in the most deprived local authority areas in England. Funding for mental health services is allocated to systems by NHS England, in line with fair-shared weighted population splits and attributes. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for the commissioning of mental health services locally.

Hospitals: Restraint Techniques

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish all data his Department holds on the use of restraint on acute child medical wards.

Gillian Keegan: The Department does not hold data on the use of restraint on acute child medical wards.

Carers: Coronavirus

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide free covid-19 tests to unpaid carers beyond 1 April 2022 in order that they can continue to provide care safely to those who may be vulnerable.

Gillian Keegan: The testing regimes for adult social care after 1 April 2022 are currently under review. Further detail will be provided in due course.

Eating Disorders: Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak and associated lockdowns on the prevalence of eating disorders and body dysmorphia among young people, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on ensuring that there is a UK-wide approach to providing care and counselling to young people that is equally accessible across the UK.

Gillian Keegan: Care and counselling for young people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. The Department plans to launch a public discussion paper in 2022 to inform the development of a new longer term mental health plan for England, which will include eating disorders. However, we will continue to engage with the devolved administrations on a quarterly basis to discuss our respective approaches, including opportunities for joint working.The Department regularly engages with people with lived experience, specialist charities and organisations to understand the impacts of eating disorders and how best to address them. We also work closely with partners to tackle negative body image. The Department of Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Office co-chair the Ministerial Task and Finish Group on Mental Health and Wellbeing which coordinates action across Government to promote positive mental wellbeing, prevent mental illness and support people to recover.

Mental Health Services: Lancashire

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) accessibility and (b) quality of child and adolescent mental health services in Lancashire.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, in 2020/21 42% of children and young people with a probable mental health condition in the Healthier Lancashire and South Cumbria Sustainability and Transformation Partnership area received at least two contacts with National Health Service-funded mental health services. The percentage of children and young people with a probable mental health condition is based on 2004 prevalence from the Office of National Statistics. The Care Quality Commission’s inspection report published in September 2019 found that the quality of child and adolescent mental health services at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust was rated as good.

Social Services: Skilled Workers

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to engage with the social care sector as part of the Government’s commitment to produce a knowledge and skills framework for that sector as outlined in the Government’s People at the Heart of Care White Paper.

Gillian Keegan: We are planning to engage with the sector on the development of a Knowledge and Skills Framework, including with national and local representatives, care providers and employees.

Alcoholism: Ketamine

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of ketamine in the treatment of alcoholism.

Gillian Keegan: Ketamine is not therapeutically indicated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for the treatment of alcohol use disorders. There are clinical trials underway to assess the effectiveness of ketamine in the treatment of alcohol use disorders. However, evidence is scarce therefore it is not currently possible to make an assessment on its effectiveness in the treatment of alcoholism.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is producing guidelines for the clinical management of alcohol use disorders which will reflect evidence-based and NICE-recommended treatments. The guidelines are expected to be published later this year.

Social Services: Reform

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with social care providers as part of the Government‘s plans to accelerate the adoption of technology in that sector as outlined in the Government’s People at the Heart of Care White Paper.

Gillian Keegan: We developed ‘People at the Heart of Care’ in partnership with over 200 organisations and people with lived experience of care and support services. Care providers were represented through the Care Provider Alliance and other national care bodies. Public sector commissioning and provision was represented through the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. Prior to the development of the white paper, we engaged with 1,200 care managers and care workers to understand the barriers to the adoption of digital social care records. We continue to engage via a governance structure, including the Digital Social Care Advisory Group.

Health: Social Media

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking with social media companies to help ensure that (a) content shared by wellness influencers is monitored and (b) to tackle inaccurate information being shared by social media users on matters relating to health, exercise and food.

Gillian Keegan: Rules enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are clear that marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. The ASA has a range of sanctions available if it finds misleading advertising. This includes referring misleading advertising to Trading Standards to investigate under the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Trading Standards’ powers include prosecution and fines. The Government will consider whether advertising regulation online should be strengthened through the forthcoming Online Advertising Programme consultation taking place this spring. This will review whether the current regulatory regime is equipped to tackle the challenges associated with the rapid growth of online advertising. Some types of advertising by influencers on social media platforms containing misinformation and disinformation content will be addressed by the Online Safety Bill. This content is treated by services and appears to users in the same way as all other user-generated content within the scope of the Bill.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2022 to Question 106718 on Protective Clothing: Coronavirus, what the other PPE supplier is with which his Department is in mediation.

Edward Argar: The Department is also currently in mediation with PPE Medpro.

Learning Disability: Vocational Guidance

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve the career opportunities for people with learning disabilities through the care support they receive.

Gillian Keegan: The Care Act 2014 encourages local authorities to ensure the right level of provision for all residents to encourage good health and wellbeing, which includes supporting access to employment. The promotion of independence, such as the opportunity for employment, should be a central aim of good social care.We are delivering and improving Access to Work to support any necessary workplace adjustments for those with a learning disability. We have invested £7.2 million in Local Supported Employment services, enabling local authorities to support social care users with learning disabilities and autistic people to access and remain in employment. Up to £18 million has also been made available over the next three years to build capacity and strengthen the Supported Internships programme, with the aim of supporting more young people with Education, Health and Care plans into employment.

Social Services: Reform

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to help ensure parity of pay and conditions for social care staff to comparable roles in the NHS as part of the Government’s planned reforms to social care.

Gillian Keegan: Unlike those employed by the National Health Service, the vast majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers who set their pay and conditions, independent of central Government. It is the responsibility of local authorities to work with care providers to determine a fair rate of pay based on local market conditions.The recent white paper ‘People at the Heart of Care’ is supported by an investment of at least £500 million over three years to build a well-trained, supported, sustainable and recognised workforce.

Visually Impaired: Rehabilitation

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much is spent on average annually on sight loss rehabilitation services in the UK; and whether there are plans to increase that spending in the future.

Gillian Keegan: The Department holds information for England only. Expenditure on sight loss rehabilitation is recorded within the category ‘sensory support’, which includes services for those with sight loss, hearing loss or dual impairment. The three-year average expenditure on ‘sensory support' in England was £127 million. In 2020/21, the expenditure was £125 million. The Department does not hold data on local authorities’ plans for future spending on sight loss services.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has he made of the impact of prescription charges on the uptake of medication.

Edward Argar: No specific assessment has been made. However, the impact assessment published with the consultation document on aligning the upper age exemption for National Health Service prescription charges with the state pension age, examined a range of issues for those on lower incomes and the uptake of medication. These included the proportion of people who could face difficulties paying for prescriptions due to high costs linked to multimorbidity and/or a low income and the health and associated costs of non-adherence to prescribed medications.The impact assessment is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/996781/impact-assessment-upper-age-prescription-exemption.pdf

Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what category of supplier is listed in his Department's spreadsheet entitled Product_VIP_Atamis; and what the meaning is of the designation VIP in that spreadsheet.

Edward Argar: The Department cannot comment on individual contracts where disclosure would be likely to prejudice commercial interests. Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act exempts information where disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person.

North Tees and Hartlepool Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Reorganisation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the NHS chief operating officer on the progress of the proposed merger of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust with South Tees NHS Foundation Trust.

Edward Argar: We have had no such discussions and we are not aware of plans to formally merge North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust with South Tees NHS Foundation Trust.

Menopause: Medical Treatments

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) barriers faced by area prescribing committees in reviewing new treatments for the menopause and (b) impact of area prescribing committee backlogs on patient access to treatment.

Edward Argar: No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a guideline on the diagnosis and management of menopause that includes recommendations on the use of hormone replacement therapies (HRT). NICE’s guideline is currently being updated. It is for clinicians in discussion with their patients and taking account of NICE guidance to take decisions on the prescribing of HRT. NICE aims to publish recommendations on the clinical and cost effectiveness of all new medicines approximately at the time of licensing. National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund medicines positively appraised by NICE.

Protective Clothing: Contracts

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21, Paragraph 212, how much of the £8.7 billion loss to the public purse on (a) items not suitable for any use, (b) items not suitable for use in the NHS, (c) changes in market price and (d) excess stock was borne as a result of contracts which were awarded via the high priority lane.

Edward Argar: The information requested is shown in the following table.Impairment typeAmount relating to high priority laneTotal amountItems not suitable for any use£0.36 billion£0.67 billionitems not suitable for use in the health and social care sector£1.1 billion£2.6 billionChanges in market price£1.0 billion£4.7 billion Excess stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) are calculated by the total volume of items held at 31 March 2021 in each category and comparing to future expected demand for that category. Therefore, we are unable to apportion excess PPE impairment by different suppliers and purchasing routes.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the design and development of the My Planned Care website has cost as of 8 March 2022.

Edward Argar: The final costs are not yet available.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answers of 10 January 2022 to Questions 97125 and 98324, whether the estimate of 6.96 billion items that are not provided to frontline services includes the 303 million items of personal protective equipment which have passed their estimated expiry date.

Edward Argar: The process of assuring and managing the stock of personal protective equipment (PPE) is ongoing, therefore this data is updated on a regular basis. The data recorded on 6 December 2021 showed 6.96 billion not currently provided to frontline services.On 6 December, the number of items with an estimated expiry date earlier than December 2021 had been revised to 542 million. Of these items, 187 million are categorised as items not currently being provided to the frontline. The remaining items are either still undergoing checks or would be available for use if required.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 November 2021 on Health Update, whether any companies were channelled through the high priority lane for government contracts in addition to those listed in the attachment to that statement.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 November 2021 on Health Update, whether any companies were classified by his Department as VIPs in addition to those listed in the attachment to that statement.

Edward Argar: Since the Written Statement of 17 November 2021, it has been identified that Technicare Ltd, previously trading as Blyth Group, should have been included in the list of suppliers which secured contracts for personal protective equipment through the high priority lane. We have corrected the record and the updated list of suppliers is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ppe-procurement-in-the-early-pandemic

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2022 to Question 97125, how many of the (a) 3.4 billion units identified as potential excess stock and (b) 6.96 billion items that have not been provided to frontline services were purchased through the high priority lane; and what the total cost of those purchases was to the public purse.

Edward Argar: Excess stock items are not categorised separately, therefore it is not possible to determine the proportion derived from contracts processed through the high priority lane.A proportion of the items which have not been provided to the frontline may be suitable for use. Quality assurance is ongoing and these items may subsequently be provided to frontline services. Other items are suitable for use in other settings and the Department is pursuing options to re-purpose or dispose of stock.Of the 6.96 billion items identified on 6 December 2021, the total paid was £3.4 billion. Within this category, 834 million items were purchased through suppliers identified through the high priority lane, at a cost of £1.27 billion.

Department of Health and Social Care: Meetings

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department’s Information Risk Management and Assurance Directorate take steps to internally distribute and publicise guidance on (a) minute taking during Ministerial meetings and (b) requirements for officials to be present during Ministerial meetings.

Edward Argar: The creation and distribution of guidance on minute taking and the requirement for officials to be present is not within the remit of the Information Risk Management and Assurance Directorate.

Protective Clothing

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many items of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been destroyed without use in the last twelve months; and what reasons were given for destroying those items of PPE.

Edward Argar: No items of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been destroyed in the last twelve months. However, the Department has disposed of over 33 million units. Where there is surplus stock, items are disposed of through sale, re-use, donations, recycling or returned to the supplier and the costs recovered.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost to the public purse is of personal protective equipment procured during the covid-19 outbreak which had to be (a) repurposed and (b) resold after being found unfit for use in medical settings; and how much of that cost was spent with companies which were awarded contracts via the high priority lane.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his Answer of 10 January 2022 to Question 97125 on Coronavirus: Protective Clothing, how much of the total cost for items of personal protective equipment that were (a) not fit for use and (b) identified as excess stock was paid to companies which secured contracts via the high priority lane.

Edward Argar: The technical assurance process is ongoing, therefore the quantity of personal protective equipment currently deemed not fit for use is not yet available. The Department continues to work through resolution processes with the relevant companies.1,177 million items were identified as having potential use in other settings, at a corresponding cost of £1,826 million, of which £931 million was paid to suppliers processed through the high priority lane. The Department estimates there are 3.8 billion items of excess stock. However, as excess stock is not ring-fenced as a separate category, the information on the costs for items secured through high priority lane contracts is not available.

Protective Clothing: China

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce dependence on China for supplies of personal protective equipment.

Edward Argar: We are working with United Kingdom manufacturers to increase the domestic production of personal protection equipment (PPE) and reduce reliance on other countries. Currently, manufacturing capacity in the UK is sufficient to meet 100% of modelled demand for all categories of PPE, except gloves.

Department of Health and Social Care: Randox Laboratories

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2022 to Question 118542, if he will publish all relevant WhatsApp messages to and from the former Parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation, Lord Bethell, in meeting the terms of the Humble Address.

Edward Argar: The Department requested all relevant WhatsApp messages to and from the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Bethell) for the period 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2021. Those messages relevant to the terms of the Humble Address on 3 February 2022 were published at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-humble-address-motion-on-randox-contracts

NHS: Coronavirus

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on updating the NHS Long Term Plan in response to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the NHS.

Edward Argar: The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement regularly monitor progress in the implementation of the NHS Long Term Plan, including considering the impacts of the pandemic. We intend to publish an update to the NHS Long Term Plan later this year, taking account of these impacts.

Ansell: Protective Clothing

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many disposable gloves his Department has purchased from Ansell in Malaysia in the last financial year.

Edward Argar: The Department has not purchased gloves from Ansell.

Department of Health and Social Care: Randox Laboratories

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 81967 on Randox Laboratories, which of his Department's officials were present on the call of 9 April 2020 between the former Parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation and Randox Laboratory, broken down by civil service grade; whether any special adviser attended that call; and whether (a) an official or (b) a special adviser wrote the minute of that call, published by his Department.

Edward Argar: The former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Bethell) was supported by a private secretary at Higher Executive Officer grade who wrote the minute and by Dr Samantha Roberts, Director of Testing Supply at the National Testing Programme. Special advisers were not present.

Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's annual report and accounts 2020-21, key findings, paragraph 8, page 200, how much of the (a) £0.67 billion of personal protective equipment (PPE) which cannot be used, (b) £2.6 billion of PPE which is not suitable for use within the health and social care sector and (c) £0.75 billion of excess stock PPE, was purchased through the high priority lane.

Edward Argar: Of £0.67 billion of personal protective equipment (PPE) which cannot be used, £0.36 billion was purchased through the high priority lane (HPL). Of the £2.6 billion of PPE not suitable for use within the health and social care sector, £1.1 billion was purchased through the HPL. The level of excess stocks of PPE is calculated by the total volume of items held at 31 March 2021 in each category and comparing it to future expected demand for that category. Therefore, we are unable to apportion the excess PPE stock between different suppliers and purchasing routes. Where contracts have failed to deliver, the Department is pursuing contractual remedies to recover taxpayers’ money. This will apply equally to HPL contracts.

Health and Care Bill

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds a minute of the meeting on 21 May 2021 between the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation, Lord Farmer, RK Trinity and Virgin Care on the Health and Care Bill, including Integrated Care Boards/Integrated Care Partnerships; in what capacity Lord Farmer attended that meeting; who attended the meeting on behalf of RK Trinity and Virgin Care; whether Departmental officials were present; and who instigated that meeting.

Edward Argar: The Department holds minute of the meeting on 21 May 2021. Departmental officials were present at this meeting. Richard Comerford of Virgin Health was also in attendance at the request of Lord Farmer. The meeting was instigated by Lord Farmer to discuss his work on family hubs and how integrated care boards and integrated care partnerships could facilitate family help services.

Protective Clothing: Contracts

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of The Paymaster General of 5 January 2022, Official report, col 122 that we have been building UK manufacturing capacity and we have been doing so by signing contracts with more than 30 British based companies for the provision of £3.9 billion items of PPE, if he will state the (a) number and (b) proportion of PPE items which were (a) imported from abroad and (b) manufactured onsite for each of those companies.

Edward Argar: Of the 3.9 billion items ordered from United Kingdom-based manufacturers, 2.5 billion has been delivered. All 2.5 billion items have been manufactured in the UK.

PPE Medpro: Baroness Mone

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2022 to Question 101748 on PPE Medpro: Baroness Mone, what the nature was of the link between Baroness Mone and PPE Medpro that was made clear prior to the award of contracts.

Edward Argar: We are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.

Supermax Healthcare

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2022 to Question 97125, how many of the 1.2 billion items of personal protective equipment which are deemed to be not fit for use have been supplied by Supermax.

Edward Argar: None of these items were manufactured by Supermax.

Protective Clothing: Contracts

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what safeguards his Department has put in place in respect of the awarding of contracts for personal protective equipment to avoid (a) groups of companies coordinating their bids and (b) applications from multiple companies with the same directors.

Edward Argar: Regulation 24 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 requires contracting authorities to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures. The Department has robust rules and processes in place to ensure that conflicts of interest do not occur, including declaration from suppliers, publication of Ministerial interests and Departmental guidance. All potential conflicts of interest must be declared by suppliers upon registering as a new supplier with the Department.

OC&C Strategy Consultants

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds a minute of the meetings between the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation, Lord O'Shaughnessy and OC&C strategy consultants on 13 April 2020; who attended the meeting on behalf of OC&C; whether officials or special advisers attended the meeting on behalf of his Department; and in what capacity Lord O'Shaughnessy was attending.

Edward Argar: The Department holds notes of the actions arising from this meeting. Lord Bethell was supported by a private secretary, Departmental officials and officials from the Department for International Trade, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and NHS England. Lord O'Shaughnessy and Bennet Summers, Vivek Madan and Henry Stannard of OC&C Strategy also attended the meeting. Special advisors were not present. Lord O'Shaughnessy attended in an advisory capacity.

Hanbury Strategy

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds a minute of the meeting between the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation and Hanbury Strategy on the industrialisation of testing on 6 April 2020; and who attended the meeting on behalf of (a) his Department and (b) Hanbury Strategy.

Edward Argar: The Department holds a minute of this meeting. The meeting was conducted by telephone, attended by Lord Bethell, his Private Secretary and Departmental policy officials. It was also attended by James Kanagasooriam for Hanbury Strategy, Bennet Summers, Vivek Madan, Henry Stannard from OC&C strategy and officials from the Office for Life Sciences, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for International Trade.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2022 to Question 125587 on Members: Correspondence, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak of 15 December 2021, reference RL31475.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. member on 21 February 2022.

PPE Group and PPE Medpro

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 101748 on PPE Medpro: Baroness Mone, whether his Department researched (a) the company PPE Medpro incorporated in the Isle of Man and (b) PPE Group, also incorporated in the Isle of Man; and whether his Department made an assessment of who the ultimate business owner is of the UK company.

Edward Argar: All offers received a rigorous financial, commercial, legal and policy assessment. We are unable to provide the information requested, as this is commercially sensitive. The Department is currently engaged in a mediation process which involves confidentiality undertakings.

Department of Health and Social Care: Meller Group

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2021 to Question 78381, on Department of Health and Social Care: Meller Group, if he will place a copy of the minute in the Library.

Edward Argar: A copy of the minute is attached. Redactions have been made for reasons of commercial sensitivity and to remove personal information.PQ101747 - meeting minutes (pdf, 93.6KB)

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing and Screening

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) number and (b) proportion of (i) PPE, (ii) lateral flow tests, (iii) PCR tests and (iv) other covid-19 testing equipment are that have been manufactured by UK based companies.

Edward Argar: The Government has ordered 3.9 billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) from United Kingdom manufacturers. This represents 10.7% of all PPE ordered since the start of the pandemic. We are unable to provide the information requested for lateral flow device and polymerase chain reaction tests and other COVID-19 testing equipment as this information is commercially sensitive.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak of 16 November 2021, referenced RL30285.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. member on 15 March 2022.

Medicine: Students

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps with the Secretary of State for Education to increase the number of places for medical students that allow for no repayment of student loans or fees in the event that those students stay within the NHS for a set period of time.

Edward Argar: The Government currently has no plans to do so. We have funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students in England – a 25% increase over three years. This expansion was completed in September 2020. We also temporarily lifted the cap on medical school places for students who completed A-Levels in 2020 and 2021 who had an offer from a university in England to study medicine, subject to their grades.

Department of Health and Social Care: Remote Working

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of increased homeworking during the covid-19 outbreak on his Department’s carbon footprint.

Edward Argar: The Department monitors and reports on its greenhouse gas emissions. Information on this is published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report.

Abbott

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds a minute of the meeting between the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation, Lord Feldman and Abbott regarding the Abbott covid-19 test on 7 April 2020; whether officials or special advisers attended the meeting on behalf of his Department; and in what capacity Lord Feldman was attending.

Edward Argar: The Department does not hold a formal minute of the meeting. Lord Bethell attended the meeting with a Private Secretary, officials from the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, Lord Feldman of Elstree and representatives from Abbott. Special advisors did not attend the meeting. Lord Feldman of Elstree attended in an advisory capacity.

NHS: Coronavirus

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 vaccine mandate for care home staff on the provision of health and care across (a) emergency services, (b) hospital treatment, (c) care homes and domiciliary care and (d) other sectors; and what steps he plans to take to use that information to inform potential future policy decisions on any further vaccine mandates.

Edward Argar: The Department published impact assessments of vaccination as a condition of deployment in care homes and health and social care sector, including domiciliary care. In care homes this estimated 40,000 staff may leave and highlighted the benefits of implementation, including reduced hospital admissions and cost of hospital treatment. In health and wider social care, we estimated 88,000 National Health Service staff and 35,000 staff in other care services may not have met the vaccination requirements by 31 March 2022. Following public consultation, regulations to revoke these requirements in all health and care settings came into force on 15 March 2022. Emergency services executing their duties were exempt from the care home requirements.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients waiting 12 hours or more in Emergency Departments from time of arrival for each month in last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: In 2020/21, 302,784 patients in England waited more than 12 hours in accident and emergency from time of arrival.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the enquiry of 26 January 2022 from the hon. Member for High Peak, reference RL32248.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 28 February 2022.

Visually Impaired: Rehabilitation

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of sight loss rehabilitation officers in the UK as of 14 March 2022; and whether he has plans to increase that number in the future.

Edward Argar: The Department has made no such estimate and has no specific central workforce plans in place for sight loss rehabilitation officers.

Midwives: Labour Turnover

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) retention and (b) recruitment of midwives in (i) London and (ii) England.

Edward Argar: NHS England and NHS Improvement recently invested £95 million to support the recruitment of an additional 1,200 midwives and 100 obstetricians and for multi-disciplinary team training.The NHS People Recovery Task Force and the NHS Retention Programme is also providing targeted interventions to understand the reasons why staff leave and support them to stay within the National Health Service. There are local initiatives to increase participation rates, convert agency workers to substantive staff and release clinical time. Target growth is allocated to regions based on the birth to midwife ratio in each region in order to meet midwifery workforce needs.The Department has commissioned the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to develop a new workforce planning tool to improve how maternity units calculate staffing requirements. This is expected in June 2022 and will guide trust-level obstetrician numbers. NHS England and NHS Improvement have invested £10 million to support the delivery of local workforce initiatives or create non-clinical capacity to enable workforce growth. In London, this has included applications for funding for administrative recruitment capacity, rostering and deployment support and career development and supporting software.

Intensive Care

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce pressure on ICU wards in hospitals.

Edward Argar: NHS England and NHS Improvement are ensuring that system leaders, regional teams, providers and national teams are collaborating on critical care services. A national adult critical care programme has been established including areas such as workforce, capacity, transfer, data and service standards. Mutual aid mechanisms and a dedicated adult critical care transfer team have been established to manage patient flow and ensure the safe transfer of patients across providers networks.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letters of 14 January and 14 February 2022 from the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare on behalf of his constituents regarding vaccinations against covid-19.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 16 March 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care: Carbon Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.

Edward Argar: The Department’s greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report.

Osteoporosis: Training

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide more funding to train healthcare professionals in using Bone density scans (DEXA) for patients with osteoporosis.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department plans to provide training to NHS staff on specific care for people with osteoporosis.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that specialised training is provided to emergency services on providing emergency care to people with osteoporosis.

Edward Argar: Health Education England (HEE) provides a range of technology enhanced programmes on osteoporosis which are available to all healthcare staff. The paramedics e-learning programme also includes specific training on osteoporosis.HEE will be making funding available in 2022/23 to support National Health Service trusts to provide advanced and enhanced-level training to all allied health professionals, including diagnostic radiographers, to support bone density scan training. It is the responsibility of individual NHS trusts to invest in post-registration training to increase the number of staff trained to undertake DEXA scans.

Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group will next meet to discuss which treatments should be considered for prioritisation.

Edward Argar: A date for the next Clinical Priorities Advisory Group has not yet been finalised. However, it is expected that the meeting will take place in May 2022.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds a minute of the meeting between the Secretary of State for Health, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation, Lord Feldman and Oxford Nanopore regarding Nanopore covid-19 test development on 1 April 2020; whether officials or special advisers attended the meeting on behalf of his Department; and in what capacity Lord Feldman was attending.

Edward Argar: The Department holds a minute of the meeting. The meeting was conducted by telephone, attended by Lord Bethell, his Private Secretary, Departmental and Cabinet Office officials. Lord Feldman of Elstree in an attended in an advisory capacity.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Medicine and Healthcare Regulatory Agency plans to restore its product registration tracking website.

Edward Argar: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s product tracking website Sentinel remains live and is updated regularly.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Diagnosis

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to develop NICE guidelines on the diagnosis and management of PCOS.

Edward Argar: There are currently no plans to ask the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop a guideline on polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). With NICE and NHS England and NHS Improvement, we will consider the development of a guideline on PCOS through the established processes for identifying and prioritising topics for guideline development.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letters of 18 January and 14 February 2022 from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on behalf of his constituent regarding puff bars.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 16 March 2022.

Supply Chain Coordination

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the operational cost of NHS Supply Chain Coordination Limited (SCCL) was in each of the financial years (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19, (c) 2019-20, (d) 2020-21 and (e) 2021-22 to date.

Edward Argar: The following table shows the operating costs for NHS Supply Chain Coordination in each year from 2017/18 to 2021/22.Year£ million2017/18N/A2018/19192019/203092020/21N/A2021/22N/A Notes:There were no operating costs in 2017/18 as NHS Supply Chain was managed by DHL Supply Chain on behalf of the NHS Business Services Authority.In May 2018, Supply Chain Coordination Limited (SCCL) was established as the new management function for NHS Supply Chain. 2018/19 was a year of transition of services from the NHS Business Services Authority to SCCL. Costs shown are operating costs during the transition period.In May 2019, management of NHS Supply Chain fully transferred to SCCL from the NHS Business Services Authority and a new operating model for NHS Supply Chain was established. The costs for 2019/20 include £31 million of exceptional expenses recharged to the Department.Data for 2020/21 and 2021/22 is not yet available as the annual report and accounts have not been published.

Opiates: Prescriptions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help support patients to phase out the use of prescribed opioids following surgery.

Edward Argar: NHS England and NHS Improvement are implementing the recommendations in the ‘Dependence and withdrawal associated with some prescribed medicines: An evidence review’, published in September 2019 by Public Health England. As part of this programme, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a guideline on chronic pain and is planning to publish a guideline on medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms in 2022.NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing a ‘framework for action’ to support integrated care systems and partners to optimise the delivery of personalised care for patients at risk of or experiencing prescribed drugs dependence or withdrawal. In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement plan to launch resources relating to the use of opioids and are working with NHS Digital to improve the quality of information available to patients on NHS.UK.

Arikayce Liposomal

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group will consider Arikayce liposomal as a treatment for patients with non-tuberculosis mycobacteria.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has a planned timetable for Arikayce liposomal becoming available to patients on the NHS.

Edward Argar: A policy proposal for Arikayce Liposomal, also known as Amikacin, is being considered by NHS England and is progressing through its methods process. The policy proposal is currently undergoing stakeholder testing and a date for consideration at the Priorities Advisory Group has not yet been determined.

Dentistry: Migrant Workers

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) increase the number of places available on the Overseas Registration Exam for overseas qualified dentists and (b) tackle the backlog of candidates waiting to take that exam.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the continued mutual recognition of professional dental qualifications from the European Economic Area.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of returning to the system in place prior to 2001 for recognising dental qualifications from leading Commonwealth dental schools to help increase the number of dentists practising in the UK.

Edward Argar: On 22 February 2022, the General Dental Council (GDC) announced the full resumption of the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) and published its sittings schedule for both parts of the exam for 2022.The capacity of the ORE is constrained by rules within the GDC’s legislative framework. The Department is currently consulting on proposals to amend the GDC’s legislation to allow it greater flexibility to put in place alternative routes to registration for international applicants. The consultation closes on 6 May 2022. Subject to the outcome of the consultation and Parliamentary approval, we aim to introduce the legislative changes in autumn 2022. It will be for the GDC, as an independent regulator, to decide how to use the flexibility which these proposals allow, including the appropriate way to assess overseas qualifications.Automatic recognition arrangements are in place for relevant dental qualifications obtained in the European Economic Area and Switzerland for a period of 24 months from the end of the transition period or 48 months for Swiss qualifications. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is required to carry out a statutory review of these arrangements after the 24-month period. This review will be conducted at the start of 2023. However, automatic recognition of qualifications will continue until further legislation is introduced to amend or end these arrangements.

Health Professions: Vacancies

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of how many additional health professionals he needs to recruit to NHS England in 2022-23.

Edward Argar: The Department has made no specific estimate. In July 2021, the Department commissioned Health Education England to work with partners to review long term strategic trends for the health workforce and regulated professionals in the social care workforce. The Department has also recently commissioned NHS England to develop a workforce strategy which will set out its conclusions in due course.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 17 March to Question 139314, (a) whether the GDP deflator published by the OBR in October 2021 has been used to determine the increase in prescription charges due to take effect from 1 April 2022; and (b) when he plans to announce his decision on whether that increase will proceed as planned.

Edward Argar: Prescription charges will not be uplifted on 1 April 2022. There is currently no planned announcement on any future increase. Decisions on increases take account of a range of evidence including the Gross Domestic Product deflator.

Members: Correspondence

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow North of 20 July 2021, reference PG23211.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 January 2022 to Question 93784.

Long Covid: Diagnosis

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to monitor trends in the level of people diagnosed with long covid.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to promote and facilitate the use of diagnostic coding for post-COVID-19 syndrome. Data in primary care is recorded and monitored via OpenSAFELY, a secure analytics platform which was established during the pandemic to deliver urgent academic and operational research.

Cancer: Health Services

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients not being seen within the operational standards of the Cancer Pathway in (a) England, (b) the Northwest and (c) Stockport as at 28 February 2022.

Maria Caulfield: No specific estimate has been made.

Lung Diseases: North of England

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to level up inequalities in respiratory health across the north of England.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Long Term Plan includes respiratory disease as a national clinical priority. The Plan has a focus on interventions for respiratory disease, such as increasing the reach of pulmonary rehabilitation into less served communities through the National Respiratory Programme. NHS England and NHS Improvement have established 13 respiratory clinical networks to provide clinical leadership for respiratory services to reduce inequalities at local and regional level.

Integrated Care Boards

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure that social care providers are represented as part of integrated care boards.

Edward Argar: The proposed legislation will set out the minimum membership of the integrated care board (ICB) and should include representatives from National Health Service trusts, primary care and local authorities. However, the ICB will be able to appoint additional members to meet its local needs, subject to broader legislative requirements. ICBs will be required to ensure it has a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience to inform them as they discharge their functions.Each area will also be required to have an integrated care partnership (ICP), with a membership determined by the ICB and local authorities in the area. We expect each ICP to consider how best to engage the social care provider sector. The Department and NHS England will work with organisations representing social care providers to develop principles for involvement in systems.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letters of 11January and7 February 2022 from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on behalf of his constituent regarding covid-19 vaccination certification.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 16 March 2022.

Kidney Diseases: Health Services

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether kidney disease is included in the Government’s initiative on reducing health inequalities, Core20PLUS5.

Maria Caulfield: One of the priority clinical areas for NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Core20PLUS5 approach is hypertension case finding. More than half of those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have hypertension. Case-finding hypertension and optimising blood pressure are essential in the effective regulation of CKD. Both undiagnosed hypertension and CKD are more prevalent among ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas, which are included in the CORE and PLUS elements of the initiative.NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme is facilitating co-ordination between regions to reduce variation and prevent any widening of health inequalities. This includes all clinical areas including kidney disease.

Health Services: Standards

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase NHS capacity in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Edward Argar: The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover elective services and increase capacity in England over the next three years. Supported by £8 billion, the NHS will increase elective activity, improve productivity, embed new models of care and technologies and empower patients with information and support.In the Midlands, NHS England and NHS Improvement are providing specific support to high volume specialties via pathway improvement initiative and best practice programmes such as the Getting it Right First Time programme (GIRFT). In the Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), capacity is being increased through the use of digital care and flexible working between teams and trusts, while building diagnostic capacity. The CCG has opened two new community diagnostic centres and added additional capacity by working with private sector providers.The University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has added additional theatres to Solihull Hospital to increase the number of elective procedures and added two wards to each of the Heartland, Good Hope and Queen Elizabeth hospitals. At Solihull and Queen Elizabeth hospitals, enhanced post-operative care units have been established, reducing the need for intensive therapy units to provide complex operations.In the Coventry and Warwickshire CCG, theatre capacity will be optimised through protected elective theatres and day surgery units. The CCG will also use virtual appointments where appropriate to increase efficiency for those patients requiring face-to-face consultations. Through increased utilisation of day case and outpatient procedures in accordance with GIRFT standards, the CCG will release capacity for the most complex cases and cancer patients.

DNA: Testing

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of DNA tests carried out by the NHS each year.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Genomic Medicines Service carries out approximately 600,000 genomic tests in England every year.

General Practitioners: Harassment

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on levels of abuse experienced by GP staff in (a) Brent, (b) London and (c) England.

Maria Caulfield: The Government has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and harassment. We are investing in improved security at general practitioner surgeries and we are working with the National Health Service to ensure primary care workers are supported.

Blood Cancer: Health Services

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the adequacy of the level of funding available to the NHS to tackle waiting lists for blood cancer treatment.

Maria Caulfield: No formal assessment has been made. However, we have committed to invest more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to recover elective services, including those for blood cancer patients. The National Health Service is establishing non-specific symptom pathways to bring together equipment and expertise to streamline diagnostic services for cancer, including for symptoms which may indicate potential blood cancer.

Blood Cancer: Diagnosis

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to reduce the number of blood cancers that are diagnosed via emergency routes.

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to meet the increased demand for blood cancer services as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Maria Caulfield: The National Health Service is establishing non-specific symptom pathways to streamline diagnostic services for cancer, including for potential blood cancer. Local systems have been asked to extend coverage of non-specific symptom pathways to at least 75% of the population by March 2023. In 2021/22, we have also invested £325 million in NHS diagnostics.On 1 March 2022, a ‘Help us help you’ campaign was launched to address the barriers which may prevent people from seeking treatment for potential cancer symptoms. NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing plans for future phases to raise awareness of key cancer symptoms throughout 2022/23.We have announced an additional £5.9 billion to support elective recovery, diagnostics and technology over the next three years to support any increase in referrals. This includes £2.3 billion to increase the volume of diagnostic activity and the launch of community diagnostic centres to address waiting times for clinical tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and computed tomography scans. We have also committed an additional £15.7 billion from April 2022 to March 2025 to manage the ongoing impact of COVID-19, while also tackling the elective care waiting list.

Mental Health Services: Refugees

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the additional £3 million of funding allocated to the NHS under Operation Warm Welcome has been spent on mental health support for Afghan refugees in the UK.

Maria Caulfield: The information is not available in the format requested. The Government provided an additional £3 million for refugees arriving under the Afghanistan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme to access healthcare and register with a general practitioner. This funding is facilitating an enhanced health assessment, including mental health needs, trauma and any safeguarding concerns.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people who receive social care support from their local authority will face any penalties or loss of support in the event that they support a Ukrainian refugee under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Maria Caulfield: Deciding whether to review the support offered to people with care needs or to undertake a new financial assessment is a matter for local authorities. However, officials are reviewing whether national guidance is required to ensure that people who take part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme are not unfairly or unreasonably penalised for doing so.

Cancer: Health Services

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure all young people with cancer have someone with them throughout their cancer appointments and treatment.

Maria Caulfield: The latest National Health Service guidance ‘Living with COVID-19 Visiting healthcare inpatient settings during the COVID-19 pandemic: principles’ expects providers to facilitate visits wherever possible, while managing any associated risks. The guidance includes the relevant exceptional circumstances for inpatient visiting from a familiar carer/parent or guardian/supporter/personal assistant and both parents/guardians where the family unit can be maintained.Teenage Cancer Trust and Young Lives vs Cancer produced the Hand2Hold guidance for young people visiting hospitals with cancer which has been distributed to all Cancer Alliances in England.

Defibrillators

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to increase the (a) provision of defibrillators in England and (b) number of people trained in first aid and CPR in England.

Maria Caulfield: The National Health Service is establishing a national network of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and community first responders which aims to save up to 4,000 lives each year by 2028. This will be supported by educating the general public, including young people of school age, on first aid and how to recognise and respond to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.The Government encourages organisations in England to consider purchasing a defibrillator as part of first aid equipment, particularly for places where there are high concentrations of people. With growing public awareness and acceptance of AEDs, many community defibrillators have since been provided in public locations, including shopping centres, through national lottery funding, community fundraising schemes, workplace funding or by charities. From May 2020, the Government has required all contractors refurbishing schools or building new ones through centrally delivered programmes, to provide at least one AED on site.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his timeline is for the new cervical screening IT system going live, as a minimum viable product; and by what date will the schedule and contents of subsequent releases, including the expected scope of the system on completion, be ready.

Maria Caulfield: The new NHS Cervical Screening Management System (CSMS) will provide multiple benefits to both staff and patients and replace outdated technology. The new system will connect to the NHS Personal Demographics Service to provide a single source of national patient demographic information. National Health Service staff will be able to track a patient’s screening history more easily and patients will be able to manage their screening appointments online. The launch date for the new CSMS minimum viable product has not yet been confirmed. The Digital Transformation of Screening Programme Board aims to confirm a deployment date during 2022/23. The schedule and contents of subsequent releases has yet to be agreed and will be considered as part of the implementation plan.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are registered as having received covid-19 vaccines administered abroad, in (a) England, (b) the North West, (c) Lancashire and (d) Preston.

Maggie Throup: The information is not collected in the format requested as individuals who have been vaccinated abroad can record multiple vaccination events.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Remote Working

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the impact of increased homeworking during the covid-19 outbreak on his Department’s carbon footprint.

David T C Davies: The Department monitors and reports on its greenhouse gas emissions - information on this is published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report.

Wales Office: Carbon Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps his Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.

David T C Davies: Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.

Ports: Wales

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the legislative changes required to ban cargo of Russian origin from being unloaded in Welsh ports.

Simon Hart: The UK Government is engaging regularly with the Welsh Government and all the Devolved Administrations to keep them appraised of the developing situation on Ukraine and matters related to the UK’s response.The Government’s sanctions are targeted against those sectors and individuals close to President Putin. This includes banning all ships that are Russian owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged from entering British ports from 1 March. Ships carrying cargo from Russia were not within the scope of these sanctions, however the Government continues to consider what further trade measures may be necessary.

Wales Office: Carbon Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether his Department has published a plan setting out the steps it plans to take to transition to net zero emissions.

David T C Davies: The Department is committed to reducing emissions and energy consumption wherever possible, as part of the UK’s transition to net zero. Current targets to make progress on reducing emissions have been published, as part of the Greening Government Commitments. The Government published the Net Zero Strategy in October 2021, which sets out policies and proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy to meet our net zero target by 2050.

Department for Education

Students: Ukraine

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with universities on Ukrainian refugee students completing the academic courses they were taking in Ukraine.

Michelle Donelan: Alongside our allies, we are united in support for Ukraine. The department has been working closely with the education sector and across government more widely to ensure that Ukrainian students are supported during this difficult time. The government is considering how best to support these students to continue their education. Last week, the department convened the Higher Education (HE) Taskforce, bringing together representatives from across the sector to discuss how we can work together to facilitate the progression of Ukrainian students within HE, both by supporting Ukrainian HE and by supporting students who come to the UK to access opportunities here. Whilst HE providers are autonomous and independent from government, we are encouraging them to be as flexible as possible for all students impacted by the situation in Ukraine and, where they are facing challenges, ensure support is given where it is most needed. The government will look to support Ukrainian students as they reassess their options in the UK. The department will continue to work closely with key representatives to explore how the HE sector can collectively support Ukrainian students.

Students: Loans

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of the phasing out of RPI in 2030 on the reforms to the student loan system.

Michelle Donelan: The Office for National Statistics is reforming the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation in February 2030, bringing the methods and data of the Consumer Prices Index Including Owner Occupiers' Housing Costs (CPIH) into RPI. From that point the historic wedge between RPI and CPIH will fall to zero.We have used RPI as the inflation measure in our reformed student loan plan type, which will apply to new borrowers entering higher education from September 2023 onwards, to ensure consistency with existing student loan plan types, all of which include links to RPI. Annual RPI inflation has historically been around 1 percentage point higher than CPIH.

Students: Finance

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he will respond to the recommendations in the Post-18 Education Review on reforming (a) maintenance loans and (b) grants.

Michelle Donelan: We have considered all of the panel’s recommendations carefully, including their recommendations on maintenance support. The switch from maintenance grants to loans in 2016 has not stopped people going into higher education. In 2021, we had record rates of English 18 year-olds accepted to full-time university, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous year to 39.0%, the highest on record.In 2021, we also had record rates of disadvantaged 18 year-olds accepted to full-time university, up 0.6 percentage points from the previous year to 24.6%.Students from the lowest-income households have access to the largest ever amounts of support for their living costs in cash terms. Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and we have announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% next year.

Students: Loans

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure that no public money in the form of student loans issued by Student Finance England has been accessed, either directly or indirectly through a third party, by people listed on the UK’s sanctions list.

Michelle Donelan: The Student Loans Company (SLC) performs daily checks to assess for impacted customers against the sanctions list provided by the Office of Financial Sanctions Compliance (OFSI). SLC also works with payment service providers, including Government Banking, who are responsible for SWIFT repayments, to provide assurance that all OFSI sanction guidelines are met.In the event of an impacted customer being identified, SLC would attach a ‘flag’ to the individual in question. This would both prevent movement of funds and trigger close monitoring of the account for the sanctioned period.

Teachers: Russia and Ukraine

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he had with the Council for At-Risk Academics on the security of academics in (a) Ukraine and (b) Russia.

Michelle Donelan: We have regular contact with the Council for at Risk Academics and are aware of the excellent work they do in extracting academics from dangerous situations all over the world.Alongside our allies, we are united in support for Ukraine and will always defend the Ukrainian people’s right to choose their own destiny. We are deeply empathetic to the plight of Ukrainian academics who will have their work disrupted. We are working at pace to stand up a package of support for Ukrainian researchers at risk.We have also made it clear that we continue to welcome Russian academics to the UK and we are proud of the long history we have in defending values such as freedom of speech and freedom of publication.

Students: Housing

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ascertain the legal owners of the properties managed by Allied Student Accommodation Limited.

Michelle Donelan: The government plays no role in the provision of student residential accommodation. Universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on establishing a new multi-sensory impairment (MSI) education fund in the Spring Budget 2022.

Will Quince: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any such discussions. The department does not currently have plans to create funding streams for specific types of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This is because the department believes decisions around funding for SEND provision are best taken locally.Under the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities and schools have the responsibility to support children and young people with SEND. They are best placed to decide how to prioritise their spending on the range of resources and activities that will best support their pupils.The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with SEND, including those with multi-sensory impairments, receive the support they need to succeed in their early years, at school, and at college.High needs funding, which is specifically for supporting children with more complex SEND, including those with multi-sensory impairments, will be increasing by £1 billion in the financial year 2022/23, bringing the overall total of funding for high needs to £9.1 billion. This unprecedented increase of 13%, compared to the financial year 2021/22, comes in addition to the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years.I also refer the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton to the answer I gave on 8 March 2022 to Question 133247.

Adoption: Pay

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will conduct an equalities impact assessment on statutory adoption pay; and if he will make it his policy to extend an allowance to self employed adoptive parents.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to review the options for equalising the rights and entitlements of all adopters, irrespective of their employment status.

Will Quince: Self-employed adoptive parents may be supported in a range of ways by local authorities, including through financial support where applicable, as set out in the statutory guidance on adoption.This says that local authorities should consider making a payment, equivalent to maternity allowance, in cases where adopters do not qualify for any statutory payment because of their self-employment.The government does not currently have plans to review further the rights and entitlements of adopters, nor to conduct an equalities impact assessment on statutory adoption pay. However, the department continually keeps under review the need to revise guidance, including the statutory guidance on adoption.

Special Educational Needs: Teachers

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure there are an adequate number of specialist teachers to support children with SEND.

Will Quince: The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers. Our reformed initial teacher training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and the new Early Career Framework (ECF), both developed with sector experts, will equip teachers with a clear understanding of the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).All teachers are teachers of SEND. ITT courses must be designed so that trainee teachers can demonstrate that they meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level which includes the requirement that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.Consideration of SEND underpins both the ITT CCF and ECF which were both produced with the support of sector experts. The ECF is designed to support all pupils to succeed and seeks to widen access for all.The department is determined that all children and young people receive the support they need to succeed in their education. It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils with sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers for children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairment, in both specialist and mainstream schools and colleges.

Children: Social Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support the Government is providing to local authorities to help improve the way that those bodies (a) collect and (b) store data on children's services.

Will Quince: Local authority children’s services are a devolved matter, and this information therefore only applies to England.Local authorities record and store children’s services data in digital case management systems they procure from the market. Our Children’s Social Care Digital Programme has worked with local authorities and case management system suppliers to publish guidance that aims to support local authority planning, procurement, and implementation of case management systems. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-social-care-improving-case-management-systems.We are also working across government on how data and technology can be used to enable better multi-agency information sharing in safeguarding, including an investigation study on the feasibility of adopting a consistent child identifier.

Schools: Finance

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing schools with additional ringfenced funds to cover rising energy bills.

Mr Robin Walker: The department recognises the concern that schools will be facing cost pressures in the coming months, particularly due to the increase in energy prices. We are looking carefully at how this will impact schools and considering what additional support we can offer.The department knows that the vast majority of school expenditure is devoted to staff costs. This means that even while energy costs are rising, inflation in this area would have an impact on a small portion of a school’s budget overall. Energy costs represented 1.3% of local authority maintained schools spending in the 2019/20 financial year and 1.4% of academy trust spending in the 2019/20 academic year. The department pays close attention to the financial health of the sector, and we are closely assessing where energy costs may more significantly impact schools’ financial health.Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The government is delivering a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. This includes an additional £1.2 billion for schools in the new schools supplementary grant for the 2022/23 financial year. Overall, this represents a 7% cash terms per pupil boost, which will help schools meet the pressures we know they are facing.

Students: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he will take to ensure that students from Ukraine will be able to be integrated into UK universities on their arrival in the UK.

Michelle Donelan: The government will continue to welcome Ukrainian students to UK universities, where we are proud of the long history we have of defending values such as freedom of speech and freedom of publication.In recent weeks, we have been extremely heartened by the solidarity shown by the education sector in its response, by supporting staff and students impacted by the situation in Ukraine. We would like to outline the action that the government has already taken, and further steps we will take, to support British nationals unable to continue their studies, Ukrainians in the UK, Ukraine, and elsewhere. This includes launching the Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Family Scheme. We know the Homes for Ukraine scheme will be welcomed by many to support Ukrainians who wish to study in the UK.In the future, organisations will be able to directly sponsor individuals. We will be announcing details of this shortly. Universities have been asked to register their interest for this scheme and to consider how they can contribute to this effort and support Ukrainians who will have had their hopes and ambitions disrupted.There are also other safe and legal routes available for Ukrainians who wish to travel to the UK. The Ukraine Family Scheme allows immediate and extended family members of British nationals and people settled in the UK to come to the country. The government is also supporting Ukrainian students in the UK. New visa options announced by the Home Office provide students with an opportunity to extend their leave, or switch to the Graduate route without having to leave the UK.Many higher education (HE) providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance, should their finances be affected in the academic year 2021/22.We continue to encourage providers to accept hardship applications from international students, including those from Ukraine.

Educational Institutions: Air Conditioning

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish a geographical breakdown by (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency of his Department's statistics published on 17 March 2022 on delivery of air cleaning units to education settings.

Mr Robin Walker: The department has published data on the number of air cleaning units delivered to education settings. This can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/delivery-of-air-cleaning-units.The attached table is a geographical breakdown of air cleaning unit deliveries by local authority. The department does not hold the data at a constituency level.The department has also published data on the number of settings that applied and were eligible for air cleaning units. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/co2-monitor-survey-and-applications-for-air-cleaning-units.Air cleaning units were allocated based on need; applications had to meet strict eligibility criteria, which can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj.In response to the number of applications received, the department has made up to 9,000 air cleaning units available to ensure that all eligible applications are fulfilled. Most settings have now received their air cleaning units. Final deliveries of applications received in January 2022 will be made by half term.142087_table (pdf, 153.6KB)

Pupil Exclusions

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the trends in the level of permanent exclusions of children from schools in the last fifteen years; and whether he has made a statistical analysis of the variations of those reasons by (a) local authority and (b) region of England.

Mr Robin Walker: The department agrees with the Timpson Review’s conclusion that there is no ‘right’ number of exclusions. We are clear that permanent exclusion should only be used when necessary, as a last resort and this should not mean exclusion from education. The Timpson Review explored how headteachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. This review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-exclusions-review-call-for-evidence. Statistics on permanent exclusions from the 2006/07 academic year onwards are available in the national statistics release 'Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England'. This can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england. The national trend can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/0ed81d36-3d56-4f12-9a33-9acd2058a403. In the Explore data and files section of the publication, under open data, the file on permanent exclusions and suspensions by geography includes the numbers and rates of permanent exclusions at national, regional and local authority level. The file on permanent exclusions and suspensions by reason includes data by reason for exclusion at national, regional, and local authority level. Consistent data is available from 2006/07. A technical note that included further statistical analysis into the association between probability of being excluded and various pupil and school characteristics was published alongside the Timpson Review. This can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/799910/Technical_note.pdf.

Childminding: Coronavirus

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing financial assistance to childminders who are unable to operate in circumstances where someone in their household has tested positive for, or has symptoms of, covid-19.

Will Quince: Since Thursday 17 March, if someone in a childminder’s household has tested positive or has COVID-19 symptoms, childminders can continue to operate at home.Childminders are advised to follow the steps below to reduce the risk of onward transmission:The person who has tested positive or has COVID-19 symptoms should avoid contact with the children being cared for in the setting.Where possible, use separate toilet and handwashing facilities. If this is not possible, maintain extra cleaning and hygiene routines, particularly after the person has used the facilities.Notify parents, carers, and any assistants that someone has tested positive or has COVID-19 symptoms, as soon as reasonably possible and maintain open communication with them throughout.Consider the need to reduce the spread of COVID-19 with mitigations, such as ventilation and extra cleaning and hygiene routines, additional information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do?priority-taxon=774cee22-d896-44c1-a611-e3109cce8eae?utm_source=17%20March%202022%20C19&utm_medium=Daily%20Email%20C19&utm_campaign=DfE%20C19.Comply with health and safety law by reviewing your risk assessment.The risk assessment must demonstrate that the provision of childcare in the setting is safe, and how childminders will put into place any additional but proportionate measures. Childminders can also consider using alternative places to operate such as other childminders’ houses, where possible.

Scholarships

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the administration of the National Scholarship Scheme will be managed by his Department or an external contractor.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what will the eligibility criteria for the National Scholarship Scheme be.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of students that will participate in the National Scholarship Scheme per academic year.

Michelle Donelan: We are considering options for the design of the National Scholarship.As part of our consultation on Higher Education Reform, we are actively seeking views on how eligibility should be determined. This could include targeting students using a range of criteria, such as household income and level 3 attainment.Our intention is that the scholarship will support high-achieving, disadvantaged students, by addressing some of the financial barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential.

Children's Centres: Closures

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children's centres that closed in each of the last 12 years; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure there is adequate capacity in children's centres.

Will Quince: Based on the information supplied by local authorities, as of 18 March 2022[1], there were 2,966 children’s centre sites open to families and children, providing children's centre services as part of a network.The attached table shows the number of children’s centres sites that have closed in each year since 2011[2].The government is committed to championing the family hub model. Between 2019 and 2021, it announced £39.5 million in support of this commitment, including:A national centre for family hubs to provide expert advice and guidance. This is run by the Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families.A £12 million family hubs transformation fund, which will support at least 12 local authorities in England to transform to a family hub model of service delivery. Local authorities were invited to apply for up to £1 million to pay for the change process through both programme and capital funding. The deadline to apply has now passed and the department is currently reviewing applications. As part of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, the government announced a further £82 million to create a network of family hubs. This is part of a wider £300 million package to transform services for parents, carers, babies, and children in half of council areas across England.Children’s centres can form part of a family hub network. The National Centre for Family Hubs will work to ensure that councils understand how they can best be incorporated where it is appropriate.[1] Source: This is based on information supplied by local authorities to Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk and internal management information held by the department on historical children’s centre closure dates as of 18 March 2022. These figures may be different to previous answers, and could change again in future, since local authorities may update their data at any time. The GIAS collects data on children’s centres that local authorities have closed on a permanent basis. It does not collect data on children’s centres that local authorities may have closed temporarily in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.[2] No closures have been reported in 2022.141948_table (pdf, 11.0KB)

Children: Care Homes

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish all incident notifications received by Ofsted for incidents of (a) a missing child, (b) emergency services called and (c) illness for each children’s home provider in 2020-2021 in England.

Will Quince: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for South Shields and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Children: Care Homes

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many complaints were received by Ofsted for each children’s home providers in England in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Will Quince: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for South Shields and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Social Workers: Labour Turnover

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure there are high levels of staff retention within the social work sector.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of efforts to recruit and retain new social workers.

Will Quince: The number of full time equivalent (FTE) child and family social workers employed by local authorities in England is increasing every year. On 30 September 2021, there were 32,500 FTE child and family social workers employed by local authorities in England. This is an increase of 2.0% compared to 2020, and an increase of 14.1% compared to 2017. While the department recognises this may not be the picture some local authorities are seeing on the ground, we are working closely with local authorities and using central programmes and funding to respond to their needs. The department is supporting the recruitment and retention of social workers through our investment in fast track initial social worker training programmes, and in professional development programmes to improve leadership. We are also seeing some innovative practices from local authorities that are driving down agency rates and stabilising their workforces. Our COVID-19 Recovery Action Plan aims to stabilise and strengthen children’s social care as we transition out of the pandemic, so we deliver well for children and young people and provide a strong foundation for longer-term reform, informed by the Care Review.

Teachers: Re-employment

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's press release, Education Secretary calls for ex-teachers to return to classrooms, published on 20 December 2021, and pursuant to the Answers of 22 January 2022 to Questions 102608 and 102595, how many ex-teachers have volunteered to return to the classroom in (a) England, (b) each region of England, (c) each upper tier local authority in England, (d) each lower tier local authority in England, and (e) each parliamentary constituency in England.

Mr Robin Walker: The department’s priority has, and continues to be, to maintain high-quality, face-to-face education for all children and young people.The call for ex-teachers was one of a series of measures the department put in place to help break the chains of COVID-19 transmission, minimising disruption to education and limiting absences during the winter. These measures included regular testing, improving ventilation in classrooms and publishing sector-led case studies that illustrate best practice in delivering hybrid lessons, remote teaching and combined classes. They also included continuing the booster rollout for adults and vaccinations for secondary age pupils.The department also reintroduced the COVID-19 workforce fund to provide financial support to eligible schools and colleges for additional staff absence costs incurred from 22 November 2021 and extended that fund until 8 April 2022. The fund supports schools and colleges facing the greatest staffing and funding pressures to continue to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education to all pupils.On 12 January 2022, the department published a one-off data release from an ad-hoc survey of a sample of supply agencies gathered between 20 December 2021 and 7 January 2022.The department is always mindful of balancing the need for data collections with the burdens we place on those collating it, particularly given the key role supply agencies play in supporting schools to maintain face-to-face education. The department regularly engages with the sector to monitor interest in the campaign, but restricted further data collections to allow them to focus on their core functions and consequently have not collected additional data.The department is extremely grateful to all the teachers who responded to our campaign to temporarily return to the classroom. Each one is making a difference to the education of the pupils they are teaching and makes a valuable contribution to our aim of maintaining face-to-face education in our schools.

Pupil Exclusions

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been permanently excluded from schools in each of the last fifteen years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been permanently excluded from schools in each (a) region of and (b) local authority area in England in each of the last fifteen years.

Mr Robin Walker: The requested information is available in the Office for National Statistics’ release of data concerning permanent exclusions and suspensions in England from the 2006/07 academic year onwards. It is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england.In the explore data and files section, under open data, the file on permanent exclusions and suspensions by geography includes the numbers and rates of permanent exclusions at national, regional, and local authority levels.

Children: Day Care

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to support families with the cost of childcare.

Will Quince: The department knows that the cost of childcare is a key concern for parents, which is why the government has made an unprecedented investment in childcare over the past decade, with over £3.5 billion spent in each of the past three years on early education entitlements.The government’s range of childcare offers includes 15 hours free early education for all three and four-year-olds, regardless of parental income or working status. This helps children to develop social skills and prepare them for school, regardless of their background.In 2013, the offer was extended to the most disadvantaged two-year-olds, providing a developmental boost to disadvantaged children who are less likely to use formal childcare, but who stand to benefit from it the most.In 2017, the department introduced 30 hours free childcare for working parents of three and four-year-olds. To be eligible for this, a lone parent must earn from just over £7,400 a year, and a couple, where both parents are working, from just over £14,800 per year, to access 30 hours. This can save parents over £6,000 per year.The department have also introduced tax-free childcare, which is available for working parents of children aged 0-11 (or up to 16 if their child is disabled), with the same income thresholds as 30 hours free childcare. This scheme can save parents up to £2,000 per year (or up to £4,000 for children with disabilities) and can be used alongside 30 hours free childcare.Working parents on Universal Credit may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs through the childcare element of Universal Credit. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children aged 0-16.

Special Educational Needs: Tribunals

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the reforms to SEND implemented in 2014 on helping to prevent legal disputes and tribunal hearings in respect of support provided.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Local Government Association's report entitled Agreeing to disagree? Research into arrangements for avoiding disagreements and resolving disputes in the SEND system in England, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the finding that the aspiration to improve the experience of parents seeking support had not been achieved as a result of an increased level of cases that are not resolved without being taken to a tribunal; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of parents and carers having to take cases to tribunal.

Will Quince: The increased levels in appeals to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Tribunal are likely to be a reflection of both the extension of appeal rights in the SEND reforms from 2014 to include young people aged 0 to 25 and the growth in the number of parents and young people seeking education, health and care plan (EHCP) needs assessments. For example, in 2020 alone, there was an increase of 11% in the number of new EHCPs issued.Despite this increase, the vast majority of cases relating to EHCP needs assessments and plans are concluded without the need to resort to tribunal hearings. Nationally, in 2020, only 1.7% of all appealable decisions subsequently resulted in an appeal to the SEND Tribunal.However, the government recognises that the current SEND system does not consistently deliver the outcomes we want and expect for children and young people with SEND, their families or the people and services who support them.A key priority for the SEND Review is to look to ensure that children and young people with SEND get the EHCP support they need, identified early and delivered promptly, in education providers that are best suited to meet their needs. The government needs to improve outcomes and experiences within a financially sustainable system.As part of the review, the government will look at what is needed to improve early intervention, make clearer the support and services everyone should be able to expect and have funding and accountability systems in place which support this. Accountability and redress mechanisms will always be there for families who need them and the SEND green paper will set out plans to strengthen and improve both. This will be published for full public consultation by the end of March.

Special Educational Needs

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of Action for Children’s report entitled Too Little Too Late.

Will Quince: The ‘Too Little, Too Late’ report makes three main recommendations. Firstly, it recommends an increase in funding for a range of early intervention services. In the autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, the government announced a £500 million package for families. This includes £300 million to transform ‘Start for Life’ services and create a network of family hubs in half of the council areas in England, and a £200 million uplift to the Supporting Families programme. The additional Supporting Families funding represents around a 40% real-terms uplift for the programme by the 2024/25 financial year, taking total planned investment across the next three years to £695 million. This funding will help up to 300,000 more families facing multiple, interconnected issues to access effective support and improve their life outcomes. It will also continue to reduce the pressure on reactive, statutory services as the system starts to rebalance away from intervening at crisis point.The report’s other recommendations include a legal duty for early help, and additional data collection on early help. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care is due to set out its final recommendations this spring, and the government will consider those relevant to early help to inform any next steps.

Social Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of placing councils under a duty to provide early help.

Will Quince: Under the Children Act 1989, local authorities are required to provide services for children in need for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting their welfare. The statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children is clear that local areas should have a comprehensive range of effective, evidence-based services in place to address needs early.There are no current plans for a duty on local authorities to provide early help. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care is due to set out its final recommendations this spring, and we will consider those relevant to early help to inform any next steps.

Special Educational Needs

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to use the SEND review to (a) clarify the level of need that requires SEND support, (b) make mainstream education settings more accountable for SEND inclusion and (c) enable decisions over SEND provision to be made jointly by all those responsible including health and care bodies.

Will Quince: The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review aims to ensure that the needs of those with SEND are identified early and consistently with the support that best meets their needs delivered promptly.To build a more inclusive system, the SEND Review is looking at strengthening mainstream provision whilst ensuring that there is sufficient, high-quality specialist capacity to provide specialist support to those children with more complex needs.The SEND Review is also looking at accountabilities at every level of the system so that education providers, including mainstream schools, and health and care partners are clear about their responsibilities.The SEND Review will be published as a green paper for full public consultation by the end of this month.

Schools: Discipline

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the evidence his Department holds on the impact of Behaviour Hubs programme on educational provision since that programme began.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria his Department uses to assess the success of Behaviour Hubs.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence his Department holds on relevant schools self-referring to the Behaviour Hubs programme.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training his Department providing to ensure Behaviour Hub partner schools staff are trained in behaviour management for pupils with SEND.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria his Department applied when selecting the lead schools on the Behaviour hub programme.

Mr Robin Walker: As the Behaviour Hubs programme has not yet been operational for a full year, the department are unable to comment on its impact. The effectiveness of the programme is being thoroughly evaluated, and an interim report will be published in 2023, followed by a final report in 2025. Early feedback from the schools being supported has been very positive, noting the quality and inclusivity of the advice they are receiving.All partner schools self-refer to the Behaviour Hubs programme. To date, the department has received 471 applications to be partner schools or partner multi-academy trusts.All partner schools are required to attend a mandatory module on special educational needs and disabilities in their first term. This covers statutory responsibilities, barriers facing, and support strategies for pupils with SEND and how to ensure policies and practices are fully inclusive.All lead schools have to meet a strict eligibility criteria to apply for the programme. All schools are required to be Ofsted rated Outstanding, Good with Outstanding behaviour and attitudes, or Good with an exceptional application. Primary school applicants are also required to have above average reading, writing, and maths attainment. Secondary school applicants need to be above average for Progress and Attainment 8, with 2018/19 Ebacc entries of at least 45%. All schools submit a written application, undergo a series of due diligence checks, and an online assessment process. This includes focus groups with pupils, teachers, non-teaching staff, parents, and carers as well as an unseen activity and an interview with senior leaders. Where a school did not meet all criteria, they were still able to apply and be considered alongside an exceptional application.

Pupils: Attendance

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to require schools to have an attendance policy; and what steps he is taking to ensure that schools adhere to statutory guidance on schools, academy trusts and governing bodies of maintained schools in relation to attendance management and improvement.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to introduce statutory guidance on the expectations of local authority attendance services; and what steps his Department is taking to provide support to councils that are undertaking work to increase levels of school attendance.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to introduce a national framework for the use of attendance legal intervention, including a new regulatory framework for issuing fixed penalty notices for absence.

Mr Robin Walker: The department recently consulted on several proposals to improve the quality and consistency of attendance support across the country. These include:Requiring schools to have an attendance policy and have regard to statutory guidance on the expectations of schools, academy trusts and governing bodies of maintained schools on attendance management and improvement.Introducing guidance on the expectations of local authority attendance services.A clearer more consistent national framework for the use of attendance legal intervention, including a new regulatory framework for issuing fixed penalty notices for absence. The department will be publishing our response to the consultation in due course.We have been working closely with local authorities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to support them to maximise attendance, sharing best practice through a series of webinars. The department has also appointed a team of expert attendance advisers who are working closely with several local authorities to review their current approach to attendance and make improvements. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, recently established an alliance of national leaders from education, children’s social care, and other services to address the barriers to regular school attendance.

Children: Wandsworth

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school-age children in (a) Wandsworth and (b) Battersea are not in full time education.

Mr Robin Walker: The department does not hold figures for school-age pupils who are not attending education full-time.

Ministry of Justice

Community Orders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many hours of community service given as part of community sentences have offenders completed in each (a) local justice area and (b) region in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Kit Malthouse: Community Payback is a term used to describe any work done as part of an unpaid work requirement made by the courts. Prior to 26th June 2021, Community Rehabilitation Companies were responsible for the delivery of unpaid work. Since then, the new unified probation service has assumed responsibility for community payback delivery. This provides an opportunity to re-energise our work, drive up completion rates and deliver better outcomes. This Government has committed to invest an additional £93million in community payback over the next three years. This is so that we ramp up delivery to 8million hours per year, focussing on outdoor projects that help to improve public spaces, ensuring that people can see justice being done. A significant dip in performance can be seen in years 2019/20 and 2020/21, which is attributed to the pandemic. Community Payback was severely affected by projects, and organisations that provided them, being closed along with the social distancing rules making it difficult for delivery to continue as normal. Alongside the additional investment, other measures being taken include ; an increase in reporting directly to site to mitigate the reliance on restricted probation transport, increases to independent working projects, and educational online training. We are unable to provide data segmented by Local Justice Areas as HMPPS report all data based on the probation service region where the person on probation has been allocated, not by criminal justice area. Please find the data below in response to part b in England and Wales in the last five years. Where possible the data has been mapped to the new Probation Service regions that came into being in 2021. In cases where this was not possible it has been attributed to ‘unknown’.Unpaid Work Hours CompletedRegion2016/20172017/20182018/20192019/20202020/2021East Midlands350,743364,784362,224343,59853,204East of England585,447626,417598,237561,479333,990Greater Manchester343,824329,494292,432273,08953,643Kent Surrey Sussex363,817396,187379,879223,899108,536London784,657849,456848,044730,593153,917North East197,914190,688197,153194,29659,546North West387,368498,787511,721473,152100,766South Central321,110305,893298,835281,18289,032South West376,013333,668353,762326,96987,749Unknown311,46017,28731,176116,03519,435Wales423,975370,010404,983374,075107,223West Midlands566,772548,595515,484479,07590,318Yorkshire and The Humber569,343550,905516,595491,54898,704National Total5,582,4455,382,1735,310,5264,868,9901,356,061

Community Orders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders have completed community sentences in each local justice area in each of the last five years.

Kit Malthouse: It is not possible to map offenders who have completed community sentences to local justice areas. However, the number of offenders who have completed community sentences (Community Orders, Youth Rehabilitation Orders, and Supervision Default Orders) in each of the seven probation regions in place for the period the data refers to can be found in the table below. This data does not include Suspended Sentence Orders, given they are classified as a custodial sentence. During 2020, the number of court order completions was substantially reduced as a result of operational restrictions put in place in response to the pandemic. In June 2021 we successfully created the new unified Probation Service, with a permanent uplift of £155m extra investment - a 15% increase on 2019-20 funding. This means that the Probation Service now has the responsibility for supervising offenders of all levels of risk, together with the timely delivery of community payback and rehabilitative programmes, which were previously the responsibility of the Community Rehabilitations Companies. As part of these changes, the Probation Service is now organised under twelve regions across England and Wales. We are committed to using our programme of reform to drive up overall performance standards. Our new performance framework for the unified Service will be tracking the key elements of probation delivery, and whether offenders are complying with them to ensure sentences are successfully completed. This will ensure a greater focus on quality and outcomes, including the timeliness of sentence delivery.Number of offenders that completed a community sentence in each year between 2016 and 2020, by region, England and Wales (1), (2)Region(3)2016(4)2017201820192020(5)  North East..14,33613,80713,77510,613  North West..11,32610,51910,7588,546  Midlands..12,97011,60410,8468,793  London..9,28910,30210,2027,952  South East and Eastern..12,84211,62011,7769,037  South West..11,47810,37310,4738,628  Wales..5,1904,7744,8673,786  England and Wales..77,43172,99972,69757,355  .. Not available(1) Community sentences include community orders, pre-Criminal Justice Act 2003 orders, Youth Rehabilitation Orders, and Supervision Default Orders.(2) The figures include all terminations of community sentences in each year, including multiple terminations of the same type of supervision (e.g. two periods of community order supervision terminating in the same year would be included in the figures).(3) The region in which the termination of an order is deemed to have taken place is determined from the Community Rehabilitation Company or National Probation Service division associated with the Order Manager allocated to the Event on the date of termination. Where a transfer between Order Managers is recorded on this day, the latest Order Manager record is to be taken.(4) Due to an issue with the archived data, figures for 2016 cannot be provided.(5) In this period, the number of court order completions was substantially reduced as a result of the operational restrictions that were put in place on 23 March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prison Officers: Drugs

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total number of prison officers of all grades was who were referred to the police on suspicion of (a) supplying and (b) using drugs in the latest period for which figures are available.

Victoria Atkins: HM Prison & Probation Service does not hold data on police referrals as a result of the Conduct and Discipline process. Drug supply and consumption in prison has a significant impact on prison life, causing safety and security issues and creating barriers to successful rehabilitation. HMPPS is proactive in detecting, investigating and taking disciplinary action against the small number of prison staff who break the rules, and involve the police where appropriate.

Prisoners: Females

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding for computers, phone calls and other technical support to allow women in prison to engage with local authorities.

Victoria Atkins: As set out in the Prisons Strategy White Paper, we recognise that prisoner-facing technology can be transformative, including in supporting women with their rehabilitation and preparation for resettlement. To date, we have invested widely in prisoner communication, including rolling out video calling technology in July 2020 and email-reply systems in Autumn 2020 in all women’s prisons. We also completed the roll out of in-cell telephony in all closed women's prisons in June 2021. In addition, as part of family contracts, all women’s prisons have Family Engagement Workers who will work with and facilitate engagement with local authorities. In the longer-term, we aim to pilot employing social workers in women’s prisons.

Prosecutions

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's policy is on prosecuting recordable criminal offences using the single justice procedure.

James Cartlidge: The use of the single justice procedure is limited to summary-only non-imprisonable offences, and the vast majority of offences prosecuted under this procedure are non-recordable.Prosecutors are free (where the law permits) to prosecute by single justice notice, requisition, or arrest and charge. The decision on how to prosecute rests with prosecutors and is not a matter for the Secretary of the State or the courts.

Ministry of Justice: Carbon Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.

James Cartlidge: Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.

Convictions and Sentencing: Appeals

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the proportion of cases in which legal aid was used for applications for leave to appeal against conviction or sentence in each year between 2016 and 2022.

James Cartlidge: The Department does not record data on the proportion of cases in which legal aid was used for applications for leave to appeal against conviction or sentence in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).

Convictions: Appeals

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds data on the number of applications for leave to appeal against conviction for each offence type in each year between 2016 and 2022.

James Cartlidge: The following table gives a breakdown of the number of applications for leave to appeal against conviction for each offence category in each full year between 2016 and 2021. Data for 2022 is incomplete and has not therefore been included.Offence Category201620172018201920202021TotalOffences against person3043133462982292941,784Sexual Offences4544613772922242542,062Dishonesty/Theft/ Robbery/Burglary3132662172161471811,340Arson/Damaging Property108684541Public Order322642281421163Firearms/Explosives/Offence Weapon415453483933268Contempt/Perverting Justice/Public Office35292923312131Environment/H&S/Planning14541217Computer1001013Drugs1291011151076379594Driving/Road Traffic incl. Fatality20232218613102Racially Aggravated62202416Terrorism611537234Breach of order67743532Slavery and Trafficking256101327Unspecified or breach offence281117372918140Not recorded1126422348Total1,3991,3471,2531,0997749306,802

Convictions and Sentencing: Appeals

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds data on the number of applications for leave to appeal against conviction and sentence that were (a) considered, (b) granted and (c) refused each year between 2016 and 2022.

James Cartlidge: HMCTS publishes annual statistics for the Royal Courts of Justice, including those requested, through the link below:Civil justice statistics quarterly: January to March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Convictions and Sentencing: Appeals

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds data on the number of High Court judges that sit as Single Justices of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) for the purposes of determining applications for permission to appeal against conviction and sentence under section 31 of the Criminal Appeals Act 1968.

James Cartlidge: All High Court judges assigned to the Queen’s Bench Division may be called upon to determine applications for permission to appeal against conviction and sentence under section 31 of the Criminal Appeals Act 1968. There are about 70 High Court judges in the Queen’s Bench Division although the number of these judges that are available to determine these applications may vary from year to year and throughout the year, depending on their workload requirements and other responsibilities.

Treasury

Tax Avoidance

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the revenue that will accrue to the Exchequer from the loan charge.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many promoters and operators of schemes subject to the loan charge have been prosecuted for promoting and operating those schemes.

Lucy Frazer: The Loan Charge was announced at Budget 2016 as part of a package of measures to tackle Disguised Remuneration (DR) tax avoidance. The forecast was last revised at Spring Budget 2021. There was an estimated overall Exchequer yield of £3.3 billion for the entire package, including the Loan Charge. In September 2019, the Government commissioned an Independent Review into the Loan Charge which was led by Lord Morse. The Government accepted 19 of the 20 recommendations made by the review. Changes to the Loan Charge were estimated to reduce the forecast yield. At Budget 2020, the changes were costed as a separate measure, with an estimated reduction to the Exchequer yield of £745 million. HMRC is committed to continuing to tackle promoters and operators of tax avoidance schemes. This includes challenging the entities and individuals who promote disguised remuneration loan schemes. Promotion or operation of mass marketed tax avoidance schemes is not in and of itself a criminal offence. However, there are a range of offences which might be committed by those who promote tax avoidance schemes or advise on their use. On that basis, while to date there have been no prosecutions of individuals directly related to the promotion of schemes subject to the Loan Charge, a number of individuals are currently under criminal investigation by HMRC for offences linked to schemes subject to the Loan Charge. In addition to schemes subject to the Loan Charge, since 1 April 2016, more than 20 individuals have been convicted for offences relating to arrangements which have been promoted and marketed as tax avoidance, including offences related to DR. These have resulted in over 100 years of custodial sentences, the majority of which relate to promoters.

Taxation: Complaints

Paul Maynard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints his Department has received about deeds or letters of assignment in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22 to date; and what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of HMRC's complaint handling procedure in respect of the validity of a deed or letter of assignment.

Lucy Frazer: The table below shows the complaints relating to Deed of Assignment received over the last 3 years at each complaints stage. Please note there could be small numbers of additional complaints which have not clearly been designated within HMRC’s complaints handling system, but which do relate to the same issue. A manual review would be required to identify those additional complaints, which was not possible in the time available.  Tier 1Tier 2Adjudicator2019-20137402020 -21272932021 - YTD338191  Following an increase in complaints in relation to the validity of deeds or letters of assignment, HMRC has reviewed its complaint handling for these cases. Following a review with appropriate stakeholders, HMRC investigates by: Obtaining the history of the case and as many facts as possible from the customer. Where the customer does not believe they completed an assignment or are unhappy with the service they received, including the fees they were charged, they initially ask them to take that up with the company. HMRC suggest what information they should obtain from the agent, such as the IP address the assignment was sent from. Unfortunately, customers do not always recall or realise what they have signed up for.Contacting the agent concerned to obtain their version of events if the customer has not been able to contact the agent or does not receive a response. HMRC may also contact the agent if the customer remains dissatisfied.Reaching a balanced view about what has happened and what action needs to be taken next. HMRC do not accredit or in any way approve agents and take firm action against any who are not complying with the law. HMRC has announced its intention to run a consultation this year on ways to tackle the high costs to customers who claim tax refunds. The consultation is part of HMRC’s work on raising standards in the tax advice market. A range of individuals and consumer interest groups have raised concerns that customers are being charged excessive amounts by some agents for claiming routine tax repayments on their behalf and that the terms under which services are provided are not made clear. The aim of the consultation is to seek wider views on the scope of the problem and consider potential solutions.

Retail Trade: Urban Areas

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he plans to take to (a) support the future of independent shops on high streets and (b) encourage more local businesses to set up high street stores.

Lucy Frazer: In July 2021, the Prime Minister launched a strategy for the high street to transform town centres into vibrant places to live, work, and visit, and confirmed 15 Town Deals worth £335 million to revitalise towns across England. Alongside this funding, the Government is providing a new temporary relief worth almost £1.7 billion for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses, resulting in over 90 per cent of retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses receiving at least a 50 per cent reduction in their business rates bills in 2022-23, when taken together with Small Business Rates Relief.

Coking Coal: Russia

Lee Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value in sterling is of imports of Russian produced coking coal in the last 24 months.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website: www.uktradeinfo.com. From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/ots-custom-table/The value of coking coal imported from Russia into the UK in the last 24 months is set out below. MonthValue of imports £1February 20203,966,6922March 202003April 202011,136,3894May 202005June 20207,926,6246July 2020427,5287August 20207,446,1278September 20202,897,4709October 2020010November 20204,841,49811December 20207,553,49012January 2021013February 20218,269,88814March 2021015April 202110,787,74916May 20214,437,11417June 20215,168,02318July 2021019August 2021020September 202110,119,91921October 2021022November 2021276,80623December 202111,125,75324January 202214,639,058 Imports from Russia to the UK Based on commodity code CN8 27011210 (Other forms of coal are classified under Chapter 27 section 04)Source: HMRC, Overseas Trade-in-Goods Statistics

Tax Avoidance: Prosecutions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many individuals who (a) promoted and (b) operated schemes now subject to the loan charge have been prosecuted for that activity.

Lucy Frazer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer that was given on 3 November 2021 to UIN 62867 and the answer that was given on 21 February 2022 to UIN HL6054.

Cost of Living: Rural Areas

Helen Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of rising inflation on people who are unable to access large supermarkets and shops based in towns.

John Glen: We understand the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, and that a range of factors mean individuals may experience cost rises differently, such as those who are unable to access large supermarkets and shops. We are providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help families with the cost of living. This includes the £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills.

Help to Buy Scheme

Derek Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to review the help-to-buy ISA threshold in the context of rising house prices, particularly in tourist destinations such as Cornwall.

John Glen: The Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder. The property price cap of £250,000 for those properties outside London (£450,000 within London) therefore allows the Government to target support at the people the scheme is intended to help.The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 460,567 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £175,680, compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £228,627. The Government keeps all aspects of savings policy under review.

Cost of Living: Carers

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help support carers on low incomes in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry and (c) the UK meet increases in the costs of living.

Mr Simon Clarke: The government understands the pressures that many households are facing with the cost of living and is monitoring the situation closely. These are global challenges, but the government is providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next to help families with the cost of living, much of which will help carers on low incomes. This includes cutting the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing work allowances to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and the £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills. The government is providing £500m through the Household Support Fund to help those most in need with the cost of essentials such as food, clothing and utilities. Carers and their vital contribution to society are also recognised within the welfare system. Carers can receive additional support through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Universal Credit and through Pension Credit. The weekly rate of Carer’s Allowance will increase to £69.70 in April 2022. Around 360,000 carer households on Universal Credit can receive an additional £1,965 a year through the Carer Element, ensuring that extra support is focused on those carers who need it most. This amount will increase from April 2022 and will benefit carers across the country.

Public Sector: Workplace Pensions

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it remains his policy to allow the cost-sharing principle for the public service pension scheme to continue for at least the 25 years initially agreed with unions in 2015.

Mr Simon Clarke: The cost control mechanism is designed to ensure a fair balance of risk between public service pension scheme members and taxpayers with respect to the costs of those schemes. Following a review of the mechanism by the Government Actuary, and a full and open public consultation process, the Government confirmed that it will implement three reforms to the mechanism. These reforms will be implemented from the 2020 valuations onwards. The Government does not believe these reforms breach the 25-year guarantee. The elements protected by the 25-year guarantee are set out in legislation, (namely, section 22 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013), and the cost control mechanism is not included. The reforms will make the mechanism more stable and allow it to operate more in line with its objectives. The reforms will make changes to member benefits less likely, in line with the spirit of the 25-year guarantee.

Inflation

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the impact of inflation on (a) disabled and (b) able-bodied people; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Simon Clarke: The government understands the pressures people, in particular vulnerable groups are facing with the cost of living as a result of high inflation. These are global challenges, but the government is providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help families with the cost of living. This includes £500m of funding available through the Household Support Fund to help those most in need with the cost of essentials such as food, clothing and utilities. Living with a long-term illness or disability can impact on the cost of living. This is why the government invests heavily in supporting disabled people both in and out of work through the welfare system. The government will spend over £58 billion in 2021-22 on benefits for disabled people and people with health conditions – this is around 2.6% of GDP. This includes Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is a universal and non-means-tested benefit to help individuals with the extra costs of living with a disability, regardless of their income. Those who have a disability or health condition and receive PIP can also get additional support through premiums or additional amounts within Universal Credit (UC) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). The government is continuing to monitor cost of living pressures and carefully considers the equalities impact of policy on those with protected characteristics, in line with both its strong commitment to promoting fairness and its legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the Equality Act 2010.

Low Incomes

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the New Economics Foundation of 14 March 2022, that by April 2022, 5.2 million people will be living below the minimum income standard compared to prior to the covid-19 pandemic.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the New Economics Foundation of 14 March 2022 that by April 2022, more than one in three households will have incomes below the minimum income standard.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the New Economics Foundation of 14 March 2022 that by April 2022, more than one in two children will be in households with incomes below the minimum income standard.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government is committed to supporting all groups in society, including those on the lowest incomes. This is why we have put in place a strong welfare safety net that helps people who are facing hardship and are unable to support themselves financially – we are providing £240 billion of support through the welfare system, including £41 billion on Universal Credit and £105 billion through the State Pension. In the long term, we know that the best strategy to sustainably reduce poverty and increase people’s incomes is to help them into work. That is why the government is investing more than £6 billion in DWP labour market support over the next three years to help people move into, and progress in work. This builds on the success of the Plan for Jobs, with over 2 million fewer people expected to be unemployed than previously thought. In addition to this, we have taken action to make work pay by cutting the Universal Credit taper rate from 63p to 55p, and increasing Universal Credit work allowances by £500 per year, as well as increasing the National Living Wage (NLW) by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23 and over in April 2022 which will benefit more than 2 million workers.

Treasury: Civil Servants

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants work out of the Darlington Economic Campus as of 17 March 2022.

Helen Whately: We are making significant progress establishing the Darlington Economic Campus and our workforce based there. We have committed to moving over 1,100 roles to the campus by 2025 from across all eight Departments and agencies based in the campus.

Fuels: Excise Duties

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to rebated fuel entitlements on the (a) commercial viability of animal cremation and (b) costs for local authorities in rural areas undertaking animal cremations.

Helen Whately: Following consultation in 2020, the Chancellor confirmed at Spring Budget 2021 that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel from most sectors from April 2022. This will more fairly reflect the negative environmental impact of the emissions they produce and help to ensure that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies. The Government did not believe that the cases made by sectors that will not retain their red diesel entitlement outweighed the need to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and the Government’s environmental objectives.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ukraine: Refugees

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the particular vulnerabilities of girls displaced by the conflict in Ukraine.

James Cleverly: We are committed to supporting Ukrainian women and girls, recognising the critical contribution women are making on the frontline and in communities affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine.  The UK has pledged £220 million of humanitarian assistance to save lives and to protect vulnerable people, including women and girls, inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries as they are forced to flee to safety.We continue to support Ukraine with a £40 million suite of programming, including through the Good Governance Fund and Conflict, Stability and Security Fund programmes - that includes ongoing support to women's social, political and economic participation across the country. This includes the UK's support of the establishment of 16 shelters, 5 crisis rooms and 10 centres for Gender Based Violence survivors.

Ukraine: Polio

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the Polio outbreak in Ukraine; and what assessment she has made of the risk of outbreaks of that disease in neighbouring countries.

James Cleverly: The UK is a strong supporter of the global efforts to eradicate polio. Over the last 25 years we have contributed £1.37 billion in funding to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), we have provided technical guidance and we have used our influence to ensure polio eradication remains a major focus of the world's governments. The UK's funding to GPEI is unearmarked, which allows them to respond rapidly to situations such as that currently ongoing in Ukraine.We are monitoring the polio situation in Ukraine carefully and engaging closely with GPEI to ensure that their response considers the risks to neighbouring countries. Currently GPEI are deploying surge staff to the region and have reached out to neighbouring countries to encourage and support the rapid identification and response to cases, through for example, strengthened surveillance, updating the preparedness plans and improving immunization coverage at subnational levels in local and refugee populations.

Ukraine: Students

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will provide an update on the situation for students trapped in Sumy, Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The UK condemns Russia's use of indiscriminate force against innocent civilians and its failure to provide for safe passage out of besieged cities across Ukraine, including in Sumy, which is a clear breach of international law. We are concerned by the reports of trapped civilians.It is vital that humanitarian corridors remain open as well as allow unimpeded humanitarian access and we urge Russia to immediately end its assault on Ukraine.

Ukraine: Refugees

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the particular vulnerabilities of girls displaced by the conflict in Ukraine.

James Cleverly: We are committed to supporting Ukrainian women and girls, recognising the critical contribution women are making on the frontline and in communities affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine.  The UK has pledged £220 million of humanitarian assistance to save lives and to protect vulnerable people, including women and girls, inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries as they are forced to flee to safety.We continue to support Ukraine with a £40 million suite of programming, including through the Good Governance Fund and Conflict, Stability and Security Fund programmes - that includes ongoing support to women's social, political and economic participation across the country. This includes the UK's support of the establishment of 16 shelters, 5 crisis rooms and 10 centres for Gender Based Violence survivors.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to assist organisations providing urgent medical supplies and essential child health services in Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives and protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. It will also be used to support refugees, including children, fleeing Ukraine, through the provision of logistics, advice and analysis of needs on the ground. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its Ukraine Appeal on 2 March which has now reached over £200 million, with the government matching £25 million of the public's donations. To date, we have contributed £3.5 million to provide medical supplies to Ukraine. 11 flights with supplies have been sent containing over 1.8 million UK medical items. UK Government humanitarian experts have also deployed to the region to support those fleeing the violence. As of 21 March, 3 million people are known to have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, according to UNHCR[link: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine].

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has issued advice against the recommendation of lawyers or officials in her Department to the Department for International Trade on the issuance of arms licences for export of arms and services to Saudi Arabia.

Amanda Milling: The Government takes its strategic export control responsibilities very seriously. The Government will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.  All licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard.

Saudi Arabia: Capital Punishment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to withdraw any arms trading with Saudi Arabia in the context of the recent executions in that country.

Amanda Milling: The Government takes its strategic export control responsibilities very seriously. The Government will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.  All licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the need for humanitarian support specifically for displaced children in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to assist organisations providing urgent medical supplies and essential child health services in Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives and protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. It will also be used to support refugees, including children, fleeing Ukraine, through the provision of logistics, advice and analysis of needs on the ground. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its Ukraine Appeal on 2 March which has now reached over £200 million, with the government matching £25 million of the public's donations. To date, we have contributed £3.5 million to provide medical supplies to Ukraine. 11 flights with supplies have been sent containing over 1.8 million UK medical items. UK Government humanitarian experts have also deployed to the region to support those fleeing the violence. As of 21 March, 3 million people are known to have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, according to UNHCR [link: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine].

Ukraine: Refugees

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help countries bordering Ukraine in tackling the threat to refugees from human traffickers.

James Cleverly: Modern slavery and human trafficking are abhorrent crimes that the government is committed to tackling. The FCDO has deployed humanitarian specialists to Poland, Moldova and Romania to ensure that the support we are providing to refugees is tailored to the local context, including the threats they face. Our humanitarian support will be implemented by trusted humanitarian partners with expertise in protection and safeguarding. FCDO staff are reiterating the importance of protection and safeguarding considerations in this response, including the risk of human trafficking, when liaising with HQ and regional staff of multilateral and NGO agencies. More broadly we will continue to coordinate law enforcement efforts by working closely with EU partners to target trafficking routes across Europe, provide protection to the most vulnerable and take tough action against those who seek to exploit people for financial gain.

Disasters Emergency Committee

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with representatives of the Disaster Emergency Committee on ensuring equal access to its support by all people in need of its services.

James Cleverly: The Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) is committed to getting the right aid to the right people as quickly as possible, listening to communities on the ground about what they need. All members of the DEC make a commitment to apply humanitarian standards which place communities and people affected by crisis at the centre of the humanitarian response.

Ukraine: Electricity Generation

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her announcement on 13 March 2022 on the provision of 500 power generators to Ukraine, (a) when those generators will be delivered to that country, (b) what the overall cost of that donation will be and (c) whether these donations will be classified as Official Development Assistance.

James Cleverly: The UK has now pledged £220 million of ODA for humanitarian assistance to meet immediate humanitarian needs and support the international humanitarian response to the crisis in Ukraine and the region. The UK will donate more than 500 mobile generators to provide much needed energy to essential facilities across Ukraine, including hospitals, shelters and water treatment plants which have lost power during the ongoing Russian invasion.The generators will be provided by UK commercial suppliers, who will provide their available stocks of generators to the effort. It is expected that suppliers will be able to deliver a large proportion of these generators to Ukraine via neighbouring countries. The Ukrainian government and the country's energy networks will distribute the generators to areas of need across the country, ensuring they reach those who need power the most.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact of the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget on the humanitarian response in Syria.

Amanda Milling: The UK works closely with our humanitarian partners, such as the UN, International and Syrian NGOs to understand the impact of UK aid spending and will continue to keep this under review. Despite difficult funding decisions due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK remains a leading humanitarian donor to Syria. To date, we have committed over £3.7 billion in response to the regional Syrian crisis, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. Our focus remains on protecting and prioritising the most vulnerable and ensuring our aid is delivered in the most effective and efficient way. Our aid to Syria this financial year has supported the distribution of 3,125 food rations with each individual's ration covering their needs for a month. In addition, our support ensured that 12,556 people benefitted from psychosocial support, 170,399 pupils were provided with access to formal education and 20,633 people benefited from sexual and gender-based violence services.

Syria: Refugees

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to work with (a) other donors and (b) the UNHCR to strengthen support for (i) mechanisms to monitor the protection situation in Syria and (ii) the conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified returns in that country.

Amanda Milling: The UK, along with the likeminded international community, continue to call upon all parties to the conflict in Syria to uphold International Humanitarian Law and protect civilians. The UK supports humanitarian, accountability and legal organisations to monitor, document, report, gather evidence on and investigate human rights and international humanitarian law violations.Whilst the UK Government hopes that Syrian refugees will, ultimately, be able to return home, we agree with the UN judgement that conditions in Syria do not currently allow this. We are engaged with UNHCR on its framework review which will address these issues more closely. However, only a political solution under UN Security Council Resolution 2254 can ensure conditions safe for returns. UN Envoy Geir Pedersen has our full support in this effort.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the announcement of £88m of humanitarian aid to Yemen on 16 March 2022, how that funding is planned to be disbursed, by budget heading.

Amanda Milling: Over the course of our coming financial year, the UK will provide at least £88 million in aid to the people of Yemen. UK funding will be provided to a mixture of agencies including the World Food Programme, United Nations Children's Fund, the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental partners. This will help feed at least 200,000 people every month, provide lifesaving health care for 800,000 women and children, and treat 85,000 severely malnourished children. We will work with our delivery partners to ensure aid is disbursed quickly and effectively to avoid further suffering.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the announcement of £88m of humanitarian aid to Yemen on 16 March 2022, who the recipients of that funding are; how much funding they will each receive; and what the schedule is for disbursal of that funding.

Amanda Milling: Over the course of our coming financial year, the UK will provide at least £88 million in aid to the people of Yemen. UK funding will be provided to a mixture of agencies including the World Food Programme, United Nations Children's Fund, the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental partners. This will help feed at least 200,000 people every month, provide lifesaving health care for 800,000 women and children, and treat 85,000 severely malnourished children. We will work with our delivery partners to ensure aid is disbursed quickly and effectively to avoid further suffering.

Ministry of Defence

Ukraine: Military Aid

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the total cost to the public purse of the military aid supplied by the UK to Ukraine this year.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is currently undergoing cost capture processes on what is an ongoing situation and is unable to provide an answer at this time. Following the necessary accounting activity at the end of the financial year (FY) and publication of the Department's Annual Report and Accounts, I will write to the hon. Member with the cost of the military aid supplied by the MOD to Ukraine in FY 2021-22.

A66: North of England

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has plans to take steps with the (a) Department for Transport and (b) Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support the movement of the A66 Trans-Pennine Project further north and away from local communities.

Jeremy Quin: Ministry of Defence officials have welcomed the opportunity to work with National Highways on their statutory consultation on the A66 Trans-Pennine Project to ensure proposed routes meet the needs of Defence now and in the future.

Ajax Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the eight posts within the Programme Management Office of the AJAX programme were vacant as of 16 March 2022.

Jeremy Quin: The Ajax Programme team now sits at its largest ever size, currently consisting of 16 posts, of which one is vacant.

Ajax Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 2.6 of the report by the National Audit Office, The Ajax programme, published on 11 March 2022, what assessment he has of the adequacy of allocating 10 per cent of the senior responsible officer's time to the AJAX Armoured Fighting Vehicle programme in 2017.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 2.6 of the report by the National Audit Office, The Ajax programme, published on 11 March 2022, in which month in 2018 was the allocation of the senior responsible officer's time on the AJAX programme increased to 30 per cent.

Jeremy Quin: In the light of the scope, scale and complexity of the programme, 10% of the Senior Responsible Owner’s (SRO’s) time in 2017 was clearly inadequate. After a time reallocation in the first quarter of 2018 the SRO’s time on Ajax increased to 30%. The current SRO is full time on Ajax with the only additional responsibility held being Head of Profession which accounts for on average 5% of his time.

Ajax Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether GDLS-UK has been notified of Defence Science and Technology Laboratory's 136 concerns which relate to the AJAX Armoured Fighting Vehicle programme.

Jeremy Quin: The record of 136 concerns forms part of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory's (DSTL) quarterly report to Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) under their support contract. This is not released in full to GDLS-UK as this contains financial and commercially sensitive information. However, the concerns are mapped into a design and safety issues log managed by DE&S which is shared with GDLS-UK .

Ajax Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 9 of the NAO's report entitled The AJAX Programme, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the consideration his Department gave to safety issues raised by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether GDLS-UK has been given access to Defence Science and Technology Laboratory's safety assessment notices of the AJAX Armoured Fighting Vehicle since 2014.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there is a requirement for Defence Equipment and Support to give due consideration to Defence Science and Technology Laboratory's safety assessment notices.

Jeremy Quin: The Defence and Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL) are contracted by Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Delivery Teams to provide independent safety advice. As part of the safety management process DSTL staff have participated in the Ajax Hazard Working Groups and Ajax Safety Panels where they and other participants are able to raise their concerns for consideration by DE&S. As set out in the Ajax Health and Safety Report, the Department missed opportunities to act on safety and risk management across the programme, including the extent to which DSTL concerns were taken into account. MOD agreed with the conclusions made in the report and its recommendations. We are now working towards their implementation. This will be examined by the follow-on review into Ajax.

Department for Work and Pensions

Carer's Allowance

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Carers Allowance payments to support unpaid carers meet the increased costs of living.

Chloe Smith: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cost of Living: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help support disabled people in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry meet the increased costs of living.

Chloe Smith: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Universal Credit: Deductions

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2022 to Question 129166 on Universal Credit: Deductions, how many children were living in households in receipt of universal credit and subject to deductions in the most recent month for which data are available, by parliamentary constituency.

David Rutley: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Work and Pensions: Remote Working

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of increased homeworking during the covid-19 outbreak on her Department’s carbon footprint.

Guy Opperman: The Department monitors and reports on its greenhouse gas emissions - information on this is published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report.

Children: Maintenance

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the evidence each parent must provide in order to permit an accurate assessment of the level of child maintenance required to be paid.

Guy Opperman: The calculation is initially based on historic income information received directly from HM Revenue and Customs. Parents may need to supply additional evidence which is considered on a case by case basis. Both parents have the right to request a mandatory reconsideration and supply further evidence to challenge a decision.

Department for Work and Pensions: Carbon Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.

Guy Opperman: Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.

Biocidal Products

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which Government department or agency is responsible for overseeing the correct use of biocides in (a) all settings and (b) hospital settings.

Chloe Smith: There is a robust and well-established regulatory framework in place in Great Britain to protect workers from health risks associated with exposure to all hazardous substances (including biocides) in the workplace through the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002, which are owned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The COSHH Regulations 2002 (as amended) apply to all work-related use of biocides including in hospitals and all other health and social care settings. The use of biocides in Great Britain in all settings, including hospitals and other areas of social care, is regulated mainly by HSE. Local Authorities regulate their use in residential care homes. HSE provides guidance on who regulates health and safety legislation at a particular workplace on its webpages ‘Is HSE the correct enforcing authority for you?’. Guidance is also provided on HSE’s website for users who are expected to have received appropriate information, instruction and training in the use of biocides. The Health and Safety Executive North Ireland (HSENI) is responsible for regulating the use of biocides in Northern Ireland under the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and can provide more detail, including how the Northern Ireland Protocol may affect their regulatory framework.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

National Parks: Chilterns

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to establish a Chilterns National Park; and if he will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: The duty to consider areas for National Park designation lies with Natural England, which then makes an order to be confirmed by the Secretary of State. Natural England announced its current designation programme in 2021, which includes considering a variation to extend the boundary of the existing Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Natural England is also undertaking a strategic England landscape assessment to identify areas which may have potential for future National Park AONB designation, as well as places for alternative landscape action.Natural England has no current plans to designate the Chilterns AONB as a National Park.

Dogs: Smuggling

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of documentary and identity checks in respect of preventing the smuggling of puppies; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing visual checks to help ensure that the pet animal is the (a) same as that listed on the pet passport and (b) age stated.

Victoria Prentis: We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes (every route other than Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the Crown Dependencies) under the Pet Travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers. To enter Great Britain pets must have been implanted with a microchip or have a legible tattoo imprinted prior to 3 July 2011. A pet’s identity is checked by ensuring that the microchip or tattoo details correspond to the details in the pet’s documentation, which includes the date of birth of the pet animal. Carriers can refer suspected non-compliances to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), including cases where any dog appears underage. APHA staff are highly trained to deal with intercepted shipments. APHA works collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the Pet Travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals. The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June 2021 and completed committee on 18 November 2021. The Bill allows us to further protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.

Peat

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the amount of peat being used in England and Wales in the (a) retail and (b) professional horticulture sector.

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has he made of the impact of the use of peat to support the growth of plants in amateur and professional horticulture in England and Wales on the environment.

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what alternatives to peat the Government is considering in amateur and professional horticulture in the event of a complete ban in 2024.

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has  made of the environmental impacts of available alternatives to peat in amateur and professional horticulture.

Rebecca Pow: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Cambridge on 21 March 2022, PQs 138305, 138306 and 138307.

Food Supply

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will set a revised date for the publication of the National Food Strategy.

Victoria Prentis: The forthcoming Food Strategy White Paper is a once in a generation opportunity to create a food system that feeds our nation today and protects it for tomorrow.It will build on existing work across Government and identify new opportunities to make the food system healthier, more sustainable, more resilient, and more accessible for those across the UK. Given ongoing wider circumstances, we expect to publish the food strategy after the pre-election period for the local elections.

Dogs: Travel

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to introduce visual checks on dogs which enter the country via ports and the Eurotunnel.

Victoria Prentis: We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes (every route other than Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies) under the Pet Travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers. Authorised pet checkers are trained by the Animal and Plant Health Agency prior to being granted approval and receive annual audits of their checking and processing to ensure they uphold our requirements. They also receive refresher training and are encouraged to liaise with their Animal and Plant Health Agency contacts to identify non-compliance trends and additional training requirements. The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June 2021 and completed committee on 18 November 2021. The Bill allows us to further protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.

Pets: Travel

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of moving the enforcement of the pet travel legislation from carriers to a qualified animal professional from a government agency.

Victoria Prentis: Carriers work closely with operational colleagues at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Border Force and are committed to preventing illegal imports of pet animals. Authorised pet checkers are trained by APHA prior to being granted approval and receive annual audits of their checking and processing to ensure they uphold our requirements. APHA regularly reviews its border enforcement work against known travel trends of those that seek to illegally import puppies to the UK, to keep pace with this rapidly evolving criminal activity. Part of this work includes intelligence-led targeting of suspected smugglers, alongside partner agencies, including Border Force. Border Force operates a 24-hour service seven days per week and alerts APHA to suspected non-compliant dogs and puppies. Targeted intelligence-led work often takes place outside of normal working hours as needed. The Government is satisfied with the workings of these current arrangements.

Dogs: Imports

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the responses to his Department's consultation on Commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into Great Britain, what progress he has made on assessing the potential merits of increasing the age at which puppies can be imported into the UK.

Victoria Prentis: The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and completed committee on the 18 November. The Bill allows us to protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. This included proposals to ban the commercial and non-commercial movement into Great Britain of puppies under the age of six months. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary response in due course. This will allow us to take onboard the views of the public and interested groups on puppy smuggling and low welfare imports in order to shape our future policy.

Food: Packaging

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help make food and drink packaging more accessible to people with sight loss.

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to support companies pioneering new technologies to make food and drink packaging more accessible to people with sight loss.

Victoria Prentis: The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible and clearly legible. Information shall not in any way be obscured and depending on the package size, there is a minimum font size.That said, we welcome work by industry, especially companies developing new digital technologies with the potential to provide the means for people with visual impairment to access food information. As part of the upcoming Food Strategy White Paper, we will look at optimising food information, including labelling, so all consumers, are better able to make informed choices.

Wines: Organic Farming

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to permit the use of more organic treatments for Botrytis and downy mildew by wine producers in the UK; and if the Government will undertake a review of organic farming treatments to enable the UK wine industry to compete effectively with its European counterparts.

Victoria Prentis: Any plant protection product used to control fungal diseases such as Botrytis and downy mildew in crops needs to be authorised before it can be sold or used. Authorisation is granted if strict standards for the protection of people and the environment are met. The organic regulations have a list of approved plant protection products available for organic farmers to manage pests, disease and weed management at crop production stage. Their use comes under restrictive conditions such as compositional requirements and they can only be used in certain situations. Use of the crop products support organic farmers to produce healthy crops including organic grapes for the UK wine industry. The Government intends to take advantage of our new post EU Exit freedoms and review the organic regulations. The broad aim of the review will be to improve the clarity and functioning of the regulations and through this, support growth in the organic sector. The review will cover the full organics regulatory regime, soil fertilising products, plant protection products, inputs and processing aids to support organic production. Changes to these regulations will require full consultation and consider the impacts on organic equivalence agreements in place with key trading partners.

Paraquat: Exports

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has carried out an impact assessment of the effect of export of the herbicide paraquat on health.

Victoria Prentis: We take our trade and international obligations for human health and the environment seriously and continue to monitor action in other countries and learn from their experiences.   The export of paraquat from Great Britain (GB) is regulated under the GB Prior Informed Consent (PIC) regulatory regime for the export and import of certain hazardous chemicals. Companies intending to export any of these chemicals from the GB must notify the importing country via the exporter's Designated National Authority. For GB, the Designated National Authority is The Health and Safety Executive (HSE).Paraquat additionally requires the explicit consent of the importing country before export can take place. The exchange of information that PIC provides allows the importing countries to make informed decisions on the import of those chemicals and on how to handle and use them safely. This process is kept under review. We believe it is essential that the use of active substances that are known to be hazardous to human health or the environment should be subject to scientific risk assessment and regulatory protections. We accordingly support notification of the export of Paraquat under the PIC regulatory regime and support its listing as a hazardous substance under the Rotterdam convention. ​Additionally, the UK is committed to working internationally to support other nations to safely manage pesticides - in particular through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, through the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) and through the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). We also believe in evidence-based international policymaking through the use of scientific committees, such as the Chemical Review Committee, and support strengthening of the international 'science - policy interface' for chemicals and pesticides to enable more effective global decision-making.

Pets: Travel

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish its response to the findings of the Commercial and Non-Commercial Movements of Pets into Great Britain consultation.

Victoria Prentis: In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups on puppy smuggling and low welfare imports in order to shape our future policy.

Dogs: Smuggling

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has carried out an assessment of the economic costs of the illegal puppy smuggling industry in the UK; and what assessment he has made of the potential economic merits of the proposals made in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill in relation to tackling the puppy smuggling industry.

Victoria Prentis: In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain.We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.We will develop an economic impact assessment for these proposals once finalised.

Plastics: Litter

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the outcomes of his Department's call for evidence on commonly littered single-use plastic items.

Jo Churchill: The Government's call for evidence on commonly littered and problematic plastic items closed on 12 February 2022. We received over 2100 responses, which we are currently in the process of analysing and an update will be provided in due course.

Members: Correspondence

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys of 6 December 2021 and 31 January 2022 regarding a constituent and feline microchipping.

Jo Churchill: I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 17 March 2022.

Ammonia: Coronavirus

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on ammonia emissions between 2019 and 2020.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on fine particulate matters emissions between 2019 and 2020.

Jo Churchill: At the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, Defra reacted promptly to the emerging situation by working with the Air Quality Expert Group on a rapid call for evidence leading to a report assessing the impact of the first lockdown on air pollutant emissions and concentrations in the UK. The report is available at https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/reports.php?report_id=1005. The emissions data for 2020 and historic years going back to 1970 were published on 14th February 2022. Defra also published projections on 15th March 2021 which estimated the impact of Covid-19 on emissions. The data and assumptions used in this modelling can be found in the Informative Inventory Report (IIR), published at https://naei.beis.gov.uk/reports/reports?report_id=1024.

Wheat: Production

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage an increase in UK wheat production in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the NFU and food businesses on potential (a) increases in wheat costs and (b) shortage of availability as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Victoria Prentis: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges. Our food import dependency on the Eastern European region, including for wheat, is very low, so Defra does not expect any significant direct impact of this conflict on UK food supply. The UK produced 14m tonnes of wheat in 2021, close to the volume of wheat the UK consumes, and has stocks of 1.7m tonnes. We can also import cereals from alternative sources. While the price of wheat may go up due to global market disruptions, the primary effect for UK farmers is likely to be an increase in the cost of a range of inputs including red diesel, animal feed, fertiliser, and energy. It is not Government policy to determine which crops farmers should prioritise to include in their crop rotation. In 2021 we permanently removed Basic Payment Scheme ‘greening measures’ on crop diversification and ecological focus areas, meaning when growers are making crop planting decisions, they are free to react to market signals. We are in regular contact with the NFU, major grain traders, manufacturers, and food retailers to understand the impacts of global events on supply chains. We are also working with the industry to identify where mitigations are available and continue to keep the situation under review.

Home Office

Fixed Penalties

Felicity Buchan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending section 68 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to raise the maximum value of fixed penalty notices.

Rachel Maclean: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date in the spring the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will begin to refer people to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; and what steps are being taken to identify and evaluate eligible Afghan nationals in refugee camps to ensure they are considered for the scheme.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what circumstances the UNHCR refer a refugee from Afghanistan to the Government for resettlement.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Animals in Science Regulation Unit

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that the Animals in Science Regulation Unit provides appropriate regulatory oversight in the context of fewer in-person inspections to view animals and meet with staff.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Animals in Science Regulation Unit

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has  made of the impact of the Change Programme on the welfare of animals, including the reduction of in-person inspections on animals and staff.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Seasonal Workers

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a seasonal workers visa for the hospitality and tourism sector.

Kevin Foster: The Points Based System already provides for many occupations within these sectors, including chefs, restaurant managers and hotel managers, subject to the requirements of the system – including English language and salary – being met.Beyond the Points Based System, there is the existing UK labour market, which includes those who come to the UK through our Youth Mobility Schemes (which we are looking to expand), our British National (Overseas) visa for those from Hong Kong, dependants of those arriving under the expanded Skilled Worker route, as well as over 5.5 million people who have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme.Most of the solutions are likely to be driven by industry, with a push towards improving pay and conditions needed, rather than turning to the Home Office for immigration policy changes as an alternative to doing this.We therefore have no plans to introduce a seasonal worker visa for the hospitality and tourism sector.

Visas: Ukraine

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prioritise the return of passports to people who had previously made an application at the former visa application centre in Kyiv.

Kevin Foster: The Visa Application Centre in Kyiv temporarily closed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and we are currently unable to return their passport to customers . The Home Office will be in contact with customers to discuss how and when their passport can be returned, although the presence of Russian Military forces around Kyiv needs to considered as part of this.If a customer does not have their passport, UKVI staff are working with customers and Border Force to facilitate their entry to the UK where we are unable to attach a vignette in their passport.

National Crime Agency: Finance

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 10 March 2022 to Question 135451 and Question 135450, what the budget was for the National Crime Agency in (a) the last two financial years, and (b) financial year 2021-22.

Damian Hinds: The NCA’s Voted Expenditure Limit for:The last two financial years was £555.74m (2019-20) and £552.06m (2020-21) as set out in the NCA’s annual reportIn 2021-22 the budget is £561.12m as set out in Supplementary EstimateThese figures do not include external funding which is provided to the NCA on a programme by programme basis.

Asylum: Interviews

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her officials have had with (a) organisations supporting, (b) people seeking asylum on the effect on the (i) mental and (ii) physical health of applicants of delays to asylum interviews and processing applications; if she will make it her policy to provide people seeking asylum with a timescale for (a) their substantive interview (b) the completion of their case; what steps she is taking to reduce delays; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people seeking asylum have been waiting for their (a) substantive interview or (b) decision on their application for over (i) six, (ii) 12 months; if she has a target timeframe for applicants to receive a substantive interview; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office maintains good working relationship with national and local organisations who support asylum seekers, We also have our strategic partnerships; including the Strategic Engagement Group (SEG) and National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF), who we work collaboratively with to ensure asylum remains one of our top priorities to improve the service we provide.We will continue to support conversations on improving the health and wellbeing of asylum seekers via the Refugee Council chaired Mental Health Forum. This forum is informed by representatives from across the NGO sector, Home Office, Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England and NHS England and NHS Improvement bringing those with customer informed insight together to consider approaches to mental health support.The Home Office does not currently have a target time for processing application for asylum but we are committed to ensuring that asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay. Asylum Operations are working to reintroduce a service standard.Our intention to reintroduce a service standard aligns with the recommendation from the recent Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s (ICIBI) published report - An inspection of asylum casework (November 2021).The Asylum Transformation programme is working to improve the asylum system and continue to streamline and simplify processes to speed up decision making to increase efficiency and output. The development and delivery of changes to the asylum process across the end-to-end asylum system include the increased use of technology, improved screening and accelerated decision-making procedures to drive delivery efficiency. Additionally, we are increasing the number of asylum decision makers and currently recruiting to this roleThe Home Office are unable to state how many people seeking asylum have been waiting for their substantive interview for over six or 12 months because this information can only be obtained at disproportionate costs.However, we do publish data on Asylum applications awaiting a decision, by duration and can be found at Asy_04 of the Asylum and Resettlement summary tables:List of tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Police: Complaints

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help speed up the procedure for considering complaints made against police officers.

Kit Malthouse: In February 2020, the Government reformed the police complaints and discipline systems to make them more transparent, more independent and more proportionate. New measures were also introduced to improve timeliness of investigations, including a requirement for forces and the IOPC to provide written explanations where cases take more than 12 months.The Home Affairs Select Committee have recently published their report into police conduct and complaints which highlighted areas of progress, including on timeliness of investigations. We will be responding to the report in due course.

Firearms: Licensing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) the police and (b) professional bodies representing doctors regarding the placing of markers on the medical notes of those licensed to hold firearms.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the level of compliance by general practitioners in placing markers on the medical notes of those licensed to own firearms since the publication of the latest Home Office guidance on firearms licensing.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effect of the charges made by general practitioners for verifying the medical information submitted by applicants for shotgun and firearms certificates; and if she will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: The Government worked closely with the police and the medical profession on the development of the firearms marker that General Practitioners (GPs) place on the medical records of those who are licensed to hold a firearms certificate. The marker helps with monitoring of firearms certificate holders by alerting GPs to advise the police if there are any changes in relevant medical conditions that the police need to be made aware of so that the police force can assess whether a person remains suitable to possess a firearm certificate. Work is currently underway to digitalise the firearms marker to further strengthen these arrangements.The new Statutory Guidance for police forces on firearms licensing, which came into effect on 1 November 2021, introduced improved arrangements for medical checks to ensure that no one is given a firearms certificate unless their doctor has confirmed to the police whether they have any relevant medical conditions. While the Home Office does not routinely monitor GPs’ use of the firearms marker on medical records, the Statutory Guidance will be kept under review to ensure that firearms licensing arrangements remain as effective as possible to protect the safety of the public including in relation to the medical check arrangements and use of the firearms marker.While doctors can charge a fee to provide the medical information in relation to a firearms certificate application, whether a fee is charged or the level of the fee if it is charged, are a matter between the applicant and the doctor. The Statutory Guidance has made it a requirement that the police must receive relevant medical information about the applicant before a firearms certificate can be granted or renewed by the police force.

Asylum: Ukraine

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to establish a safe and legal route for Ukrainians seeking asylum to travel to the UK.

Kevin Foster: This Government has made its support for Ukrainians fleeing in fear of their lives clear.We are creating safe and legal routes for Ukrainian nationals to come to the UK.This Government has introduced two new schemes: the Ukraine Family Scheme announced on 4 March, and the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ Scheme announced by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities on 14 March.The Ukraine Family Scheme is fee-free and allows British nationals and people settled in the UK to bring family members to the UK, covering immediate family members plus parents, grandparents, children over 18 and siblings, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws. Individuals will be granted leave for three years and will be able to work and access public services and benefits.The bespoke ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme will ultimately allow individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety – including those with no family ties to the UK. There will be no limit on the number of arrivals, and those who come to the UK on the scheme will have permission to live and work here for up to three years. They will also have access to public services and benefits.This government will work closely with international partners on the ground to support displaced Ukrainians in need of a home.

Asylum: Ukraine

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to establish a safe and legal route for Ukrainian asylum seekers to enter the UK.

Kevin Foster: This Government has made its support for Ukrainians fleeing in fear of their lives clear.We are creating safe and legal routes for Ukrainian nationals to come to the UK. This Government has introduced two new schemes: the Ukraine Family Scheme announced on 4 March, and the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ Scheme announced by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities on 14 March.The Ukraine Family Scheme is fee-free and allows British nationals and people settled in the UK to bring family members to the UK, covering immediate family members plus parents, grandparents, children over 18 and siblings, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws. Individuals will be granted leave for three years and will be able to work and access public services and benefits.The bespoke ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme will ultimately allow individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety – including those with no family ties to the UK. There will be no limit on the number of arrivals, and those who come to the UK on the scheme will have permission to live and work here for up to three years. They will also have access to public services and benefits.This government will work closely with international partners on the ground to support displaced Ukrainians in need of a home.

Visas: Ukraine

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to facilitate urgent visas for Ukrainian (a) spouses and (b) other immediate family members of British nationals to enable them to travel to the UK following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Kevin Foster: As set out in the Home Secretary’s statement to the House on 1 March, a fee free, bespoke Ukraine Family Scheme has been introduced which allows both the immediate (spouse, civil partner, durable partner, minor children) and extended (parent, grandparent, adult children, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and their immediate family) family members to join their relatives in the UK.The UK-based sponsoring relative must be a British citizen, a person who is present and settled in the UK (including those with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme), a person in the UK with refugee leave or with humanitarian protection or a person in the UK with limited leave under Appendix EU (pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme). This route was launched on 4 March.We are setting no limit on the numbers of people who can come here. We will be glad to welcome as many Ukrainians as wish to come under this scheme.We continue to keep the situation in Ukraine under constant review. Further information on the visa process for Ukrainian family members who wish to come to the UK can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-family-members-of-british-nationals-in-ukraine-and-ukrainian-nationals-in-ukraine-and-the-uk#non-british-family-members-of-british-nationals-in-ukraine

Refugees: Ukraine

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to allow applications from within the UK for the Ukrainian Family Resettlement Scheme.

Kevin Foster: The Ukrainian Family scheme is already open to applications from within the UK.Guidance for those who wish to make such an application is published here:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-family-members-of-british-nationals-in-ukraine-and-ukrainian-nationals-in-ukraine-and-the-uk#non-british-family-members-of-british-nationals-in-ukraine

Visas: Ukraine

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the capacity is for the number of appointments available per week at UK visa application centres in (a) Hungary, (b) Moldova, (c) Poland, (d) France, (e) Romania for people making visa applications to come to the UK; how many such appointments remain free at each of these centres for March 2022; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has surged capacity to other countries including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland.Since Tuesday 15 March, Ukrainians with passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK. Instead, once their application has been considered and the appropriate checks completed, they will receive direct notification that they are eligible for the scheme and can come to the UK.   This will mean VACs across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without passports. We have increased the capacity at those Centres to 13,000 appointments per week.

Refugees: Ukraine

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with her international counterparts to put in place extra levels of protection for minority groups fleeing Ukraine.

Kevin Foster: The Home Secretary is continuing to speak to her international counterparts to ensure we are taking appropriate action to support the Ukrainian Government and people.We have announced new measures to simplify and speed up the process for people applying to the Ukraine Family Scheme. From Tuesday 15 March, Ukrainians with valid passports who are eligible for this route can do their application online and will not need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.For non-passport holders we have expanded our Visa Application Capacity to 13,000 a week, deployed additional staff across the EU, with a 24/7 helpline in place to ensure those who need appointments can get them to come here. This allows us to balance security risks while welcoming those in need.The Government has also commenced the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which allows Ukrainians with no family ties to the UK to be sponsored to come to the UK. We will keep our support under constant review.

Refugees: Ukraine

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether staff in the British embassy in Ukraine have been offered refuge in the UK.

Kevin Foster: The government is enormously grateful for the work of our embassy staff, who have supported UK efforts in Ukraine in the most difficult of circumstances.Staff who work in the British Embassy in Ukraine, and other in-country staff, and their family members are able to apply to travel to the UK for an initial period of three years, with the right to work and access benefits. If they hold a valid International Ukrainian passport they will not need to attend a Visa Application Centre.

Asylum: Employment

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her timetable is for conclusions of the review into the Government’s policy on asylum seeker's rights to work; and if she will publish details of the (a) progress, (b) outcomes and (c) activity of the review to 14 March 2022.

Kevin Foster: The review of asylum seeker right to work policy has been concluded. We are retaining our policy with no further changes.A Written Ministerial Statement was made on 8 December, setting out the Home Office’s findings and rationale: Asylum Seekers: Right to Work Policy - Hansard - UK Parliament.

Refugees: Ukraine

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assistance she is providing for Ukrainian citizens settled in the UK who wish to reunite with their family members still residing in Ukraine.

Kevin Foster: As set out in the Home Secretary’s statement to the House on 1 March, a fee free, bespoke Ukraine Family Scheme has been introduced. The route allows both the immediate (spouse, civil partner, durable partner, minor children) and extended (parent, grandparent, adult children, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, in laws and their immediate family) family members to join their relatives in the UK.The UK-based sponsoring relative must be a British citizen, a person who is present and settled in the UK (including those with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme), a person in the UK with refugee leave or with humanitarian protection or a person in the UK with limited leave under Appendix EU (pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme). This route was launched on 4 March.We are setting no limit on the numbers of people who can come here. We will be glad to welcome as many Ukrainians as wish to come.We continue to keep the situation in Ukraine under constant review. Further information on the visa process for Ukrainian family members who wish to come to the UK can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-family-members-of-british-nationals-in-ukraine-and-ukrainian-nationals-in-ukraine-and-the-uk#non-british-family-members-of-british-nationals-in-ukraine

Visas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to ensure that new guidelines to replace Tier 1 investor visas make provision for appropriate safeguarding of people who are deemed to be a threat to national security.

Kevin Foster: We have announced alternative provisions will be made to cater for genuine, legitimate and professional investment into the UK entrepreneurial eco-system under extended provisions within the Innovator visa scheme. These will incorporate the necessary security provisions as a key priority.Further details already announced on our proposals can be found within the statement published at Tier 1 Investor Visa route closes over security concerns - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Any application to enter the UK, irrespective of the route of entry, can be refused where there are national security concerns.

Visas: Belarus and Russia

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) Russian and (b) Belarussian nationals can secure visas for the UK from abroad after fleeing the country in which they were living due to persecution for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.

Kevin Foster: Applications for a visitor, short-term student, or Temporary Worker (Creative or Sporting Worker) visa may be made at any Visa Application Centre (VAC), which has been designated by the Secretary of State to accept such applications.Most other types of visa applications should be made at a VAC in the country or territory where the applicant is living. However, managers within UKVI may allow applications to be made in other locations on a case-by-case basis.

Refugees: Russia

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to allow Russians who oppose the current regime in that country who are (a) already in the UK and (b) currently outside the UK to seek long-term sanctuary in the UK.

Kevin Foster: The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge.  Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, including those individuals in Russia who are opposing the current regime, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here.  Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, as this is the fastest route to safety. There are a range of safe and legal routes for individuals to come to the UK should they wish to join family members here, or to work or study. They would though need to meet the requirements of the relevant Immigration Rule under which they were applying to qualify for a visa. While we do not allow asylum claims from abroad, all asylum claims lodged from within the UK are given full and careful consideration so we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin. Protection is normally granted where a claimant has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention, or their circumstances engage our obligations under Article 3 ECHR.

Immigration: EU Countries

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of applicants who met the 30 June 2021 deadline for applications to the EU Settlement Scheme have been waiting over six months for their applications to be processed and what steps are being taken to address the delays in processing applications.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office publishes data on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) in the ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’.The latest published information on EUSS applications received and concluded to 31 January 2022, can be found in the monthly summary data at:EU Settlement Scheme statistics, February 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Emergency Travel Documents and Visas: Ukraine

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue urgent guidance to airlines that fly to the UK that they should accept (a) UK issued visas or (b) prescribed temporary travel documents from those travelling from the Ukraine and who do not have access to their passport.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has informed carriers of the steps they need to take when assessing the eligibility of Ukrainian nationals for travel to the UK.

Hezbollah: Demonstrations

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Mayor of London has raised concerns directly with her about the support shown for Hezbollah at the annual Al Quds march in London.

Damian Hinds: Hizballah has been proscribed in its entirety in the UK since 2019.Proscription sends a strong message that the Government considers an organisation to be concerned in terrorism and makes it a criminal offence to be a member or supporter of the organisation, with a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. It is also a criminal offence for a person to display or publish an article or item of clothing in such a way or in such circumstances to arouse a reasonable suspicion that they are a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation. This could lead to up to 6 months in prison, and/or a £5000 fine.The tactics for policing public demonstrations are an operational matter for the police. It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment publicly on these. Whether an offence is committed during a public demonstration is a matter for the police to investigate.The Home Secretary and Mayor of London routinely discuss a range of issues, including public demonstrations and the impact of these on community tensions.

Police: Vetting

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of response times of police forces in providing disclosure and barring service checks; and what assessment she had made of the adequacy of provision of those services to service users.

Kit Malthouse: An Enhanced disclosure check shows full details of a person's criminal record such as cautions, reprimands, warnings, spent and unspent convictions. From the period April 2021 to December 2021, over 2.91m, enhanced checks were processed by the DBS of which 2.46m, (83%), were processed within 14 days. See link for published DBS performance information on Gov.uk:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbs-dataset-1-disclosure-progress-information-disclosed-and-update-service-subscriptionsDBS and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) have service level agreements in place with the 52 police forces that DBS work with to provide criminal record checks. This ensures service delivery against quality, output, cost, and timeliness measures. Individual forces are assessed monthly against these quantitative measures, with qualitative standards assessed through a Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) that provides a consistent approach to the quality of work done across all forces. See link below for information on the QAF:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quality-assurance-framework-version-nine-qaf-v9Performance against targets is monitored closely by the department.

Immigration: Applications

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2022 to Question 117921, on Immigration: Applications, whether she plans to publish information on applications for further leave within her Department's wider Home Office transparency data.

Kevin Foster: Information on applications for further leave to remain is published as part of the Home Office Transparency data. This data does not split Leave to Remain (LTR) from Further Leave to Remain (FLTR) for recording purposes.We do not plan to alter this approach.

Visas: Ukraine

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to simplify (a) organisational processes and (b) documentation for people applying to the Ukraine Family Scheme.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office is continually making efforts to simplify the application process for Ukrainian refugees, and keeps this under regular review.The latest developments can be found in the Home Secretary’s statement of 10 March which can be found: Home Secretary update on support for Ukrainians - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Visas: Ukraine

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Ukrainian refugees her Department anticipates being granted residence in the UK by the end of 2022.

Kevin Foster: It is not currently possible to estimate the number of Ukrainian refugees who may come to the UK as a result of the Russian invasion. There is no cap on either the Ukraine Family Scheme or the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. Information on the number of applications within the Ukraine Family Scheme can be found on gov.uk: Ukraine Family Scheme: application data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Asylum: Age

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans  to ensure that the public can feed into the work of the Scientific Advisory Committee's advice on ways of checking how old an asylum seeker is; and what the process is for submitting evidence to that committee.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office is committed to drawing on a range of evidence and expertise in the formulation of policy. The Age Estimation Scientific Advisory Committee is already in discussions with a range of relevant experts and is reviewing a wide body of literature. Any relevant published, peer-reviewed literature may be sent to the Age Estimation Scientific Advisory Committee mailbox for consideration. Contact details for the Committee can be found on the Committee’s gov.uk webpage.

Proof of Identity: Digital Technology

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending share codes for digital ID confirmation to non-EU nationals.

Kevin Foster: Many non-EU nationals can already share status using ‘share codes’ and we are increasingly extending this service to other cohorts.People who receive an eVisa (a digital version of their immigration status information) can use the ‘view and prove’ service to view information about their status whenever they wish and share it securely with third parties such as employers or public and private service providers, including for identification purposes. People who wish to share their status can generate ‘share codes’ that can be passed on to employers, landlords and other parties, enabling them to check the visa holder’s rights and conditions of stay in the UK.The existing online ‘right to work’ and ‘right to rent’ services also enable all visa holders who have a biometric residence permit or card to quickly and simply generate ‘share codes’ which can be shared and used in the same way.Those granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme were the first to receive eVisas but the approach has subsequently been extended to other cohorts, including those on the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route and those granted status under some of the UK’s points-based immigration routes, such as the Graduate Route.Sharing evidence of status using ‘share codes’ has become increasingly popular, particularly during the COVD-19 pandemic when face-to-face sharing was not possible. We will add other routes on an incremental basis as part of the journey to a fully digital system by 2025.

Visas: Ukraine

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish daily statistics relating to applications (a) started, (b) completed, (c) awaiting processing, (d) processed and (e) approved for the (i) Ukraine visa schemes and (ii) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Kevin Foster: Information on the number of applications under the Ukraine Family Scheme can be found in our published data on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Family Scheme: application data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme opened on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.Approx. 6,500 people in the UK who have been brought to safety during and after the evacuation who are eligible for the ACRS through pathway one.We have registered over 10k applications on our databases, and continue to enrol biometrics, with a view to having granted ILR to the remainder by the end of April.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the earliest arrival date of Afghan citizens to the UK under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Kevin Foster: The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme commenced on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK There are around 6,500 people in the UK who have been brought to safety during and after the evacuation and who are eligible for the ACRS. They include women’s rights activists, journalists, and prosecutors, as well as Afghan families of British Nationals. The first Afghan families have already been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain under the scheme.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March to Question 126611, with reference to the 351,300 EU Settlement Scheme applications outstanding on 31 Jan 2022 recorded in the monthly summary data link provided, how long those applicants will have to wait before their applications are processed; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: Our aim is to process all applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) as quickly as possible. Each individual case is considered on its own facts, which means some cases will inevitably take longer than others to conclude. Cases may take longer dependent on the circumstances of the case, for example, if the applicant is facing an impending prosecution or has a criminal record.The following link lists the expected processing times for EU Settlement Scheme applications, based upon current performance:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-application-processing-times/eu-settlement-scheme-pilot-current-expected-processing-times-for-applications(opens in a new tab)The rights of those EU citizens and their family members who were lawfully resident at the end of the transition period and who, from 1 July 2021, have a pending application under the EUSS or an appeal against the refusal of an application submitted by then, will be protected until their application is finally determined.Anyone awaiting the outcome of their in-time application to the EUSS can evidence their rights to work or study with their Certificate of Application which is issued as soon as possible after a valid application is received.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Rented Housing: Lone Parents

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to support low-income single parent families to find housing in cases where a rent guarantor cannot be found.

Eddie Hughes: The Government wants everyone to have access to secure, safe and affordable housing. The Government continues to strongly encourage private rented sector landlords and agents to assess the suitability of potential and existing tenants on an individual basis.Landlords and letting agents are free to carry out any referencing checks within the law before accepting a new tenant, this may include income checks or setting a requirement for a guarantor, depending upon the decision of the individual landlord.Significant support remains in place through the welfare system, including LHA rates maintained at their increased cash level for 2021/22 and 2022/23. For those who need it most, support is available through Discretionary Housing Payments and the £500 million Household Support Fund, of which £421 million will go to help vulnerable people in England.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Carbon Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.

Eddie Hughes: Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.

Incinerators: Hurn

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will call in for his determination planning application number 8/21/0207/FUL to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council for the construction of an incinerator on green belt land at Hurn; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Andrew: We have received requests to call-in the application in question. These are being considered and a decision will be issued in due course.

Batteries: Planning Permission

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his policy is on protecting the Green Belt from planning applications for battery storage units; and if he will update the national planning policy framework with a strategy for locating these units on land other than Green Belt land.

Stuart Andrew: This Government has a manifesto commitment to protect and enhance the Green Belt. Our National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that most new building is inappropriate in Green Belt and should be refused permission unless in very special circumstances. Very special circumstances are not defined in national planning policy as it is rightly for the individual local authority to assess each case on its merits, and give relevant circumstances their due weight. However, when considering any planning application affecting Green Belt land, the local authority should ensure that substantial weight is given to any harm to the Green Belt.The Framework is also clear that local authorities should support transition to a low-carbon future, including renewable and low-carbon energy generation. Local plans should identify suitable areas for renewable and low-carbon energy sources and infrastructure and guidance sets out how local authorities should take account of environmental, landscape and amenity considerations.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will make provisions to enable Homes for Ukraine applications to be made by (a) post or (b) by phone to allow those people to register who do not have access to the internet.

Eddie Hughes: The Department will consider whether to enable sponsors for Homes for Ukraine applications to be made by post or phone for those who do not have access to the internet.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Vetting

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the contract process is for the contract for providing safeguarding checks on hosts for the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to my answer to PQ UIN 141196 on 21 March 2022.

Refugees: Resettlement

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how the humanitarian sponsorship pathway announced by the Government on 1 March 2022 differs from other community sponsorship schemes for refugees.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what further steps his Department plans to take to ensure that Ukrainian children arriving in the UK receive adequate housing, education, and psychosocial support.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what further measures his Department plans to introduce to ensure that Ukrainian children arriving in the UK receive adequate housing, education and psychosocial support.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to the guidance for local authorities available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Remote Working

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the impact of increased homeworking during the covid-19 outbreak on his Department’s carbon footprint.

Mr Alister Jack: The Government monitors and reports on its greenhouse gas emissions - information on this is published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report.

Cabinet Office

Department for Work and Pensions: Offices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the decision to close 42 offices of the Department for Work and Pensions is part of his Department’s wider plan to reduce the size of the Civil Service; and if he will make an announcement on that wider plan.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Across government, we are committed to a range of programmes to support transformation across departments, functions and locations. These will ensure that workforce structures better match the requirements of the future, including in terms of services delivery across the Civil Service. Spending Review 21 confirmed savings of 5% against day-to-day central departmental budgets in 2024-25 that have been reinvested into priority areas. These efficiencies will mean that the Government can reduce non-frontline Civil Service headcount to 2019-20 levels by 2024-25, helping to fund increases to frontline roles. This will mean a more productive and agile Civil Service, taking advantage of new ways of working to continue to reduce inefficiencies and deliver better outcomes for the public. Questions relating to the closure of DWP offices should be addressed to my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Blood: Contamination

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish Sir Robert Francis' Infected Blood Compensation Study before the Easter recess 2022.

Michael Ellis: It is my intention to publish Sir Robert Francis’ study alongside the Government’s response. Before I am able to do so, you will understand that work must be undertaken within Government to formalise our response. That work is already underway. I recognise how important it is for the Inquiry and its core participants to have sufficient time to consider the study before Sir Robert gives evidence to the Inquiry. It is my intention to publish the study alongside the Government’s response as soon as possible.

Civil Service: Location

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made on relocating civil service jobs across the UK.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: By the end of 2021, more than 2,000 Civil Service jobs had already been relocated from Greater London under the Places for Growth programme. Places for Growth is contributing towards the Declaration on Government Reform and Levelling Up agenda by significantly increasing the geographic spread of Civil Servants across the UK, increasing opportunities for people from a wider range of places. As the Levelling Up White Paper set out, departments have committed to moving more than 15,000 Civil Service roles out of Greater London by 2025, and 22,000 by 2030.

Royal British Legion: Energy

Jamie Stone: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what support the Government plans to provide to branches of the British Legion facing financial difficulties as a result of increases in energy costs.

Leo Docherty: The Government works closely with the Royal British Legion, which makes an enormous contribution to the lives of veterans and their families. While there are no plans to provide funding to branches of the Royal British Legion in relation to energy costs, all charities pay VAT at a reduced rate (5%) and are excluded from the Climate Change Levy for qualifying energy use.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Australia

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK's (a) progress towards the net zero target and (b) food standards are improved as a result of the UK-Australia trade deal.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK is committed to making progress towards reaching net-zero and the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) recognises our right to regulate to do so. The FTA includes provisions which affirm our commitments under the Paris Agreement and strengthen our cooperation in areas including biodiversity, emissions reduction, and green technologies.Our FTA with Australia will also remove tariffs on goods which benefit the low-carbon economy, for example tariffs of up to 4% on imports of Lithium will be eliminated on entry into force of the agreement.The agreement protects the rights and freedom of both countries to regulate to uphold food safety standards. Consumers can be confident in the safety of food imported as imports will still have to meet our existing and future standards under this deal.

Coking Coal: Russia

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he plans to ban the import of Russian produced coking coal into UK ports; and what options are available to achieve that.

Mike Freer: In lockstep with our allies, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has announced the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions Russia has ever seen. The UK Government has banned all ships that are Russian owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged from entering British ports. Ships carrying cargo from Russia are not within the scope of these specific transport sanctions. However, we continue to consider further trade measures to support our policy of ratcheting up economic pressure on Russia.

Preferential Tariffs: Japan

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 131039 on Preferential Tariffs: Japan, when her Department plans to publish data related to the Preference Utilisation Rate for the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: The Department for International Trade has committed to publishing a monitoring report every two years, following entry into force of the United Kingdom-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Trade Agreements: Australia and  New Zealand

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government conducted impact assessments of the effect of trade deals with (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand on (a) the agriculture sector and (b) all other sectors in Wales.

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish her Department's impact assessments of the effect of trade deals with (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand on Wales.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade’s impact assessments of the UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) were published on 17th December 2021 and 28th February 2022 respectively, and include impacts on the nations and regions of the UK and on sectors of the economy. They also describe the potential impacts on the agri-food sectors for the UK in section 4 of the document. Sectoral impacts by nation and region are not available.

Department for International Trade: Carbon Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.

Penny Mordaunt: Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/greening-government-commitments#annual-reports

Import Duties: USA

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress has been made on ensuring the removal of section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium imports in the US.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help deliver full-fibre and gigabit-capable broadband to every home and business across the UK by 2025.

Julia Lopez: The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Our target is a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025, but this is not the limit of our ambitions and we will continue to work closely with the industry to get close to complete gigabit coverage as quickly as we can thereafter.We are investing £5 billion so hard-to-reach areas can get ultra-reliable gigabit speeds, have already upgraded 600,000 premises, and in three years national coverage has rocketed from six per cent to 66 per cent.We are making excellent progress on Project Gigabit. Broadband providers have so far been invited to bid for Project Gigabit contracts worth up to £292 million to upgrade up to 187,000 premises across Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, Cambridgeshire, North Dorset and West Cornwall - with initial work expected to commence later this year.Up to 2.5 million premises are included in the Project Gigabit procurement pipeline within England, with further details published in our latest Project Gigabit Delivery Plan.In addition to our procurement pipeline, we are investing up to £210 million in the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to support rural communities with the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections. To date, more than 63,500 households and small to medium businesses have benefited from an upgrade through the voucher scheme.We are also providing funding of up to £110 million to connect up to 7,000 rural public buildings like schools, GP surgeries and libraries, which will act as hubs for connecting nearby homes and businesses.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to help improve broadband and mobile phone coverage in rural areas.

Julia Lopez: We are investing £5 billion through Project Gigabit to provide reliable, lightning-fast, future-proofed connectivity in areas not covered by commercial delivery. Project Gigabit is central to how we level up, future-proofing connectivity for decades to come and ensuring no-one is left behind.We have already upgraded 600,000 premises to gigabit-capable broadband, and in three years national gigabit coverage has rocketed from six per cent to 66 per cent.Procurements under Project Gigabit are now under way in a number of regions across the country to extend this further. Up to 2.5million hard-to-reach premises have been announced as within scope for gigabit procurements and up to £210 million in vouchers is available to help communities that are not in line for commercial or publicly-funded projects right now.The Government also recognises the frustration arising from the impact poor mobile coverage has on communities, particularly in rural areas. That is why we agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This agreement will see the government and industry jointly invest over £1 billion to increase 4G mobile coverage to 95% UK geography by the end of the programme. It will improve coverage for an extra 280,000 premises and 16,000km of roads tackling not-spots and reduce the divide in connectivity between urban and rural areas.The four mobile network operators have already commenced work on the first element of the programme, which is funded by industry, and work is already under way and on track to eliminate the majority of partial not-spots - areas of the UK where there is currently coverage from at least one, but not all operators - by mid-2024.

Broadband

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the average proportion of homes and business that have high speed broadband availability in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Julia Lopez: The vast majority of the United Kingdom (96.7%) has access to superfast broadband. Superfast broadband allows households to work or learn from home and stream a high definition film simultaneously. Additionally, the government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Today, over 66% of premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from just one in ten in November 2019. By 2025 the government is targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage.According to ThinkBroadband, as of 21/03/2022 coverage statistics were as follows:England - (Superfast 97.5%) and (Gigabit 67.9%)Scotland - (Superfast 94.9%) and (Gigabit 60.8%)Wales- (Superfast 96%) and (Gigabit 49%)Northern Ireland - (Superfast 91.5%) and (Gigabit 82.3%)

Internet: Advertising

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made in tackling fraudulent online advertisements.

Chris Philp: We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March. Through the Bill, the largest tech companies will need to take robust action to tackle fraud, including fraudulent online advertisements. This will ensure that people using the largest platforms are protected from scams, and ensure these services do not profit from illegal activity.We have also launched a consultation on proposals for wider reform of online advertising regulations, including the role of the online advertising ecosystem in relation to fraud.

Twitter: Russia

John Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with Twitter representatives regarding disinformation tweeted by official accounts of the Russian Government.

Chris Philp: The Russian state is waging an aggressive information campaign, including using disinformation spread by official Russian Government accounts to try and justify Russia’s unacceptable military action in Ukraine.DCMS is working closely with major social media platforms, including Twitter, to ensure disinformation, and coordinated inauthentic or manipulated behaviour, is removed in line with platforms’ terms of service, and authoritative content which accurately depicts the ongoing situation in Ukraine is promoted across their services.

Prime Minister

Journalism: Saudi Arabia

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to his visit to Saudi Arabia in March 2022, whether he had discussions with Saudi officials on (a) the case of Raif Badawi, (b) the murder Jamal Khashoggi and (c) the ongoing imprisonment of 28 journalists in Saudi Arabia.

Boris Johnson: I raised human rights concerns during my visit to the Kingdom. No aspect of our relationship with Saudi Arabia prevents us from speaking frankly about human rights.We welcome the release of Raif Badawi on 11 March, but will continue to raise concern over the imposition of travel bans on individuals such as Mr Badawi. The UK has always been clear that Mr Khashoggi's murder was a terrible crime and that Saudi Arabia must ensure such an atrocity can never happen again. We condemn his killing in the strongest possible terms, which is why we have sanctioned twenty Saudi nationals involved in the murder under the global human rights regime. The UK remains concerned over the arrests and continued detention of a number of individuals, particularly those detained for expressing their views.